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CONTOUR  MAP  OK  THE  ATLANTIC 
From  Soundings  and  Temperature  Observation*  up  to  May,  1876. 


QLt)t  boQaQc  of  tt)*  "Challenger" 


THE  ATLANTIC 

A  PRELIMINARY  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GENERAL  RESULTS  OF 

THE  EXPLORING  VOYAGE  OF  H.M.S.  "CHALLENGER" 

DURING  THE  YEAR  1873 
AND  THE  EARLY  PART  OF  THE  YEAR  1876 

By  SIR  C.  WYVILLE  THOMSON 

KNT,  LL.  D. ,  D.Sc,  F.R.SS.L.  &  E.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  Etc. 

REGIUS  PROFESSOR  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  EDINBURGH  AND  DIRECTOR  OF 
THE  CIVILIAN  SCIENTIFIC  STAFF  OF  THE  ' 1  CHALLENGER  ' '  EXPEDITION 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

Vol.  II. 


NEW  YORK 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 
FRANKLIN  SQUARE 

1878 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 

Final  Departure  from  Bermudas. — Temperature  Sounding  near  the  Island. — Man- 
ganese Concretions. — Gulf -weed. —  Gnathophausia. — The  General  Aspect  of  the 
Acores. — Island  of  Fayal. — Horta. — Island  of  Pico. — San  Miguel. — Ponta  Del- 
gada. — Orange  Cultivation. — Excursion  to  Furnas. — Sete-Cidades. — The  Garden 
of  M.  Jose  do  Canto. — A  Religious  Ceremony. — Arrival  at  Funchal  Page  9 

Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira.  58 
Appendix  B. — Table  of  Specific  Gravities  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira .  60 

CHAPTER  II. 

MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OP  BRAZIL. 

Return  to  Madeira. — The  Black  Coral. —  Ophiacantha  chelys. — Ophiomusium  pulchel- 
lum. —  Ceratias  uranoscopus. — The  Island  of  San  Vicente. — Porto  Praya. — The 
Island  of  San  Iago. — A  Red-coral  Fishery. — The  Guinea  Current. — Balanoglossus. 
— Luminosity  of  the  Sea. — St.  Paul's  Rocks. — Fernando  Noronha. — Low  Bottom 
Temperatures  under  the  Equator. —  Ceratotrochus  diadema. — Pentacrinm  Maclea- 
ranus. — Dredging  at  Moderate  Depths. — Arrival  at  Bahia   61 

Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Madeira  and  Bahia  during 
the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  18*73   116 

Appendix  B. — Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  500  fathoms,  taken 
between  Madeira  and  Station  CII.  (Lat.  3°  8'  N.,  Long.  14°  49'  W.)   118 

Appendix  C. — Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms,  taken 
between  Station  CII.  and  Bahia   118 

Appendix  D. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Madeira  and  Bahia  dur- 
ing the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  18*73   119 

CHAPTER  III. 

BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 

A  Shower  of  Butterflies. — Bahia  de  Todos  os  Santos. — Excursion  into  the  Forest. — 
San  Salvador. — Hospitality  of  the  English  Residents. — Dredging  in  Shallow  Wa- 
ter in  the  Bay. — A  Case  of  Yellow  Fever. — Fungia  symmetrica. — Tristan  d'Acun- 
ha. — Inaccessible  Island. — Story  of  the  Stoltenhoffs. — The  Birds  of  Inaccessible 
Island. — The  Habits  of  the  Penguin. — Nightingale  Island. — Subsequent  History 
of  Tristan  d'Acunha. — To  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope   121 


468S51 


iv 


CONTENTS. 


Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Bahia  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  Page  172 

Appendix  B. — Table  of  Serial  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms,  taken  between  Bahia 
and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope   173 

Appendix  C. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Bahia  and  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  during  the  Months  of  September  and  October,  1873   174 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 

The  Strait  of  Magellan. — Dredging  in  Shallow  Water. — The  Falkland  Islands. — Their 
Physical  Features. — The  Town  of  Stanley. — The  Products  and  Commerce  of  the 
Falklands. — The  Balsam-bog. — The  Tussock-grass. — A  Peculiar  Mode  of  Repro- 
duction among  the  Echinoderms. — "  Stone  Rivers." — The  Temperature  Section 
between  the  Falklands  and  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Plate. — Montevideo. — Merid- 
ional Section  along  the  Central  Ridge  of  the  Atlantic. — Ascension. — An  Island 
under  Naval  Discipline. — Voyage  to  Porto  Praya  and  Porto  Grande. — Soundings 
in  the  Eastern  Trough  of  the  Atlantic. — Vigo  Bay. — Arrival  at  Spithead  . . .  176 


Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  between  the  Falkland  Islands  and  Tristan 
d'Acunha   234 

Appendix  B. — Table  of  Temperatures  between  Tristan  d'Acunha  and  the  Acores  236 

Appendix  C. — Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms  taken 
in  the  South  and  North  Atlantic  in  the  Year  1876   238 

Appendix  D. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  on  the  homeward  voyage  between 
the  Falkland  Islands  and  Portsmouth   239 

Appendix  E. — Stations  in  the  Atlantic  where  Observations  were  taken  in  1876  .  243 


CHAPTER  V. 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 

Contour  of  the  Bed  of  the  Atlantic. — The  Atlantic  Ocean  divided  by  a  Series  of 
Ridges  into  Three  Basins. — Nature  of  the  Bottom. — Pelagic  Foraminifera. — Vol- 
canic Debris. — Products  of  the  Decomposition  of  Pumice. — Distribution  of  Ocean 
Temperature. — Laws  regulating  the  Movements  of  the  Upper  Layers  of  the  At- 
lantic.— Corrections  of  Six's  Thermometers. — Laws  regulating  the  Movement  of 
Water  in  the  Depths  of  the  Atlantic. — Doctrine  of  "  Continuous  Barriers." — Dis- 
tribution and  Nature  of  the  Deep-sea  Fauna. — Universal  Distribution  of  Living 
Beings. — Causes  modifying  and  restricting  the  Distribution  of  the  Higher  Forms. 
— Relations  of  the  Modern  to  the  Ancient  Faunae. — The  Density  of  Sea-water. — 
The  Amount  and  Distribution  of  Carbonic  Acid. — Of  Oxygen   246 


Appendix  A. — The  General  Result  of  the  Chemical  and  Microscopical  Examination 
of  a  Series  of  Twenty  Samples  of  the  Bottom  from  the  Observing  Stations  on 
the  Section  between  Teneriffe  and  Sombrero  315 

Appendix  B. — Table  showing  the  Amount  of  Carbonic  Acid  contained  in  Sea-water 
at  Various  Stations  in  the  Atlantic   327 

Appendix  C. — Table  showing  the  Relative  Frequency  of  the  Occurrence  of  the  Prin- 
cipal Groups  of  Marine  Animals  at  Fifty -two  Stations  at  which  Dredging  or 
Trawling  was  carried  to  Depths  greater  than  2000  Fathoms   328 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


WOOD-CUTS. 

PIG.  PAGE 

1.  Diagram  constructed  from  Serial  Sounding  No.  59   10 

2.  Scalpellum  Regium  (sp.  n.).    Natural  size.    (No.  63)   11 

3.  Male  of  Scalpellum  Regium.    Twenty  times  the  natural  size.    (No.  63) .  .  14 

4.  Diagram  showing  the  Relation  between  Depth  and  Temperature  at  Sta- 

tion 69    .  19 

5.  Diagram  showing  the  Relation  between  Depth  and  Temperature  at  Sta- 

tion 71 .,   19 

6.  Gnathophausia  Gigas,  Von  Willemoes-Suhm.    Natural  size.    (No.  69)  ....  20 

7.  Gnathophausia  Zoea,  Von  Willemoes-Suhm.    Natural  size.    (No.  73) .....  21 

8.  Altingia  Excelsa,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel.  (From 

a  Photograph)   31 

9.  Cryptomeria  Japonica,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel. 

(From  a  Photograph)   .  33 

10.  Araucaria  Cookei,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel.  (From 

a  Photograph)   35 

11.  Orange-groves  near  Ponta  Delgada.    (From  a  Photograph)   37 

12.  Flabellum  Alabastrum,  Moseley.    Slightly  enlarged.    (No.  78)   50 

13.  Curves  constructed  from  the  Serial  Soundings  at  Stations  59,  69,  71, 

and  82   54 

14.  Ceratotrochus  Nobilis,  Moseley.    Slightly  enlarged.    (No.  78)   55 

15.  Diagram  constructed  from  Serial  Sounding  No.  82   56 

16.  Ophiacantha  Chelys  (sp.  n.).    Dorsal  aspect  of  the  disk.    Four  times  the 

natural  size.    (No.  87)   62 

17.  Ophiacantha  Chelys  (sp.  n.).     Oral  aspect  of  the  disk.     Four  times  the 

natural  size.    (No.  87)   63 

18.  Ophiomusium  Pulchellum  (sp.  n.).    Dorsal  aspect  of  the  disk.    Seven  times 

the  natural  size.    (No.  87)   65 

19.  Ophiomusium  Pulchellum  (sp.  n.).    Oral  aspect  of  the  disk.    Seven  times 

the  natural  size.    (No.  87)   66 

20.  Ceratias  Uranoscopus,  Murray.    Natural  size.    (No.  89)   67 

21.  Pyrocystis  Noctiluca,  Murray.    From  the  surface  in  the  Guinea  Current. 

One  hundred  times  the  natural  size   82 

22.  Pyrocystis  Fusiformis,  Murray.    From  the  surface  in  the  Guinea  Current. 

One  hundred  times  the  natural  size   83 


vi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG.  PAGE 

23.  Bathycrintjs  Aldrichianus  (sp.  n.).    Three  times  the  natural  size.  (No. 

106)   86 

24.  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus  (sp.  n.).    About  twice  the  natural  size.  (No. 

106)   89 

25.  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.    About  four  times  the  natural  size.  (Station 

147)   90 

26.  Disk  op  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.    Eight  times  the  natural  size   91 

27.  The  Arrangement  of  the  Soft  Parts  in  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.  Eight 

times  the  natural  size   92 

28.  Breeding -place  of  the  Noddy,  St.  Paul's  Rocks.     (From  a  Photo- 

graph)    94 

29.  St.  Paul's  Rocks.    (From  a  Photograph)   98 

30.  Ceratotrochus  Diadema,  Moseley.    Once  and  a  half  the  natural  size.  (No. 

120)  •   110 

31.  Pentacrinus  Maclearanus  (sp.  n.).    Slightly  enlarged.    (No.  122)   112 

32.  Diagram  op  the  Vertical  Distribution  op  Temperature  at  Station  129.  130 

33.  Fungia  Symmetrica,  Pourtales.      Three  times  the  natural  size.  (No. 

133)   132 

34.  The  Settlement  op  "  Edinburgh,"  Tristan  d'Acunha.    (From  a  Photo- 

graph)   140 

35.  Cyclopean  Architecture,  Tristan  Island.    (From  a  Photograph)   143 

36.  Water-fall,  Inaccessible  Island.    (From  a  Photograph)   148 

37.  Group  op  Rock-hoppers,  Inaccessible  Island.    (From  a  Photograph)  ....  158 

38.  Cladodactyla  Crocea,  Lesson.    Stanley  Harbor,  Falkland  Islands.  Nat- 

ural size   188 

39.  Psolus  Ephippiper  (sp.  n.).     Corinthian  Harbor,  Heard  Island.  Three 

times  the  natural  size   192 

40.  Psolus  Ephippifer.    Some  of  the  plates  of  the  marsupium  removed.  Three 

times  the  natural  size   193 

41.  Goniocidaris  Canaliculata,  A.  Agassiz.    Stanley  Harbor.    Twice  the  nat- 

ural size   194 

42.  Cidaris  Nutrix  (sp.  n.).    Balfour  Bay,  Kerguelen  Island.    Natural  size  .  .  197 

43.  Hemiaster  Philiprti,  Gray.    Accessible  Bay,  Kerguelen  Island.    Twice  the 

natural  size   199 

44.  Hemiaster  Philippii.    The  apical  portion  of  the  test  of  the  female  seen 

from  within.    Slightly  enlarged   200 

45.  Hemiaster  Philippii.    The  apical  portion  of  the  test  of  the  male  seen  from 

within.    Slightly  enlarged   200 

46.  Hemiaster  Philippii.    The  arrangement  of  the  eggs  in  one  of  the  marsu- 

pial recesses.    Five  times  the  natural  size   201 

47.  Leptychaster  Kerguelenensis,  E.  Smith.     Off  Cape  Maclear,  Kerguelen 

Island.    Twice  the  natural  size   203 

48.  Hymenaster  Nobilis  (sp.  n.).    Southern  Sea.    Half  the  natural  size  206 

49.  Hymenaster  Nobilis.    The  marsupial  tent  with  the  valves  closed.  Twice 

the  natural  size   208 

50.  Ophiocoma  ?  Vivipara,  Ljungman,  sp.     Twice  the  natural  size.  (No. 

149)  . .   209 

51.  Hastigerina  Murrayi  (sp.  n.).     From  the  surface.    Fifty  times  the  nat- 

ural size   250 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  vii 

KIG.  PAGE 

52.  Hastigerina  Murrayi  (sp.  n.).    From  the  surface.    Ten  times  the  natural 

size   252 

53.  A  Page  op  the  Temperature  Curve-book,  for  Station  325    263 


54.  Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  at  Station  112.  272 

55.  Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  at  Station  129.  274 

56.  Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  at  Station  327.  274 

57.  Diagram  showing  the  Effect  of  a  "Continuous  Barrier"  on  Ocean  Tem- 


perature   277 

58.  Challengeria.    Four  hundred  times  the  natural  size   292 

59.  Forms  of  the  Challengerida   292 

60.  Flabellum  Apertum,  Moseley.    Natural  size                      v                .  .  .  295 

61.  Flabellum  Angulare,  Moseley.    Natural  size   295 

62.  Chauliodus  Sloanii.    From  the  upper  water.    One-third  the  natural  size.  300 

VIGNETTES. 

Costume  of  the  Inhabitants  of  San  Miguel   48 

A  Catamaran,  Fernando  Noronha   57 

Penguins  at  Home   171 

Irrigation,  Porto  Praya   231 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  PLATES. 

plate  To  face  page 

XV. — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  Bermudas  to  Madeira   14 

XVI. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

Bermudas  and  Madeira   18 

XVII. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  June,  1873   23 

XVIII. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  July,  1873   50 

XIX. — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  Madeira  to  Station  102   64 

XX. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

Madeira  and  Station  102   76 

XXI. — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  Station  102  to  San  Salvador   82 

XXII. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

Station  102  and  Pernambuco   87 

XXIII.  — The  "Challenger"  at  St.  Paul's  Rocks   96 

XXIV.  — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  August,  1873. .  .  102 
XXV. — Fernando  Noronha   108 

XXVI. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  September,  1873.  124 

XXVII.  — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  San  Salvador  to  the  Cape  of  Good 

Hope...   128 

XXVIII.  — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

San  Salvador  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope   132 

XXIX. — The  Island  of  Tristan  d'Acunha   138 

XXX. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  October,  1873  . .  156 

XXXI. — Nightingale  Island   164 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

plate  To  face  page 
XXXII. — Chart  of  the  Tristan  d'Acunha  Group   166 

XXXIII.  — Meteorological   Observations  for  the  Month  of  November, 

1873    168 

XXXIV.  — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  the  Falkland  Islands  to  the  Me- 

ridian of  Tristan  d'Acunha   180 

XXXV. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

the  Falkland  Islands  and  Lobos  Island   198 

XXXVI. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  February, 

1876   214 

XXXVII. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

Lobos  Island  and  Tristan  d'Acunha   216 

XXXVIII. — The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  Tristan  d'Acunha  to  Station 

350   222 

XXXIX. — Diagram  of  the  Vertical  Distribution  of  Temperature  between 

Tristan  d'Acunha  and  Station  348   228 

XL. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  March,  1876..  248 
XLI. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  April,  1876...  282 
XLII. — Meteorological  Observations  for  the  Month  of  May,  1876....  306 


\ 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 

Final  Departure  from  Bermudas. — Temperature  Sounding  near  the  Island. — Scalpel- 
lum  regium. — Manganese  Concretions. — Gulf -weed. —  Gnathophausia. — The  Gen- 
eral Aspect  of  the  Acores. — The  Island  of  Fayal. — Horta. — The  Island  of  Pico. 
— San  Miguel. — Ponta  Delgada. — Orange  Cultivation. — An  Excursion  to  Furnas. 
— Sete-Cidades. — The  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto. — A  Religious  Ceremony. — 
Flabellum  alabastrum. — Ceratotrochus  nobilis. — Arrival  at  Funchal. 

Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira. 
Appendix  B. — Table  of  Specific  Gravities  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira. 

We  left  Bermudas  on  Thursday,  the  12th  of  June,  for  the 
Acores.  His  Excellency  Major-general  Lefroy,  C.B.,  F.R.S., 
governor  of  the  island,  with  his  private  secretary  (Captain 
Trench),  and  Captain  Aplin,  R.N.,  Captain  Superintendent  of 
the  Dock-yard,  and  a  party  of  ladies,  came  on  board  in  the  aft- 
ernoon ;  and  we  bid  farewell  with  great  regret  to  the  friends 
from  whom  we  had  received  such  unvarying  kindness  during 
our  stay.  At  half -past  five  we  steamed  out  of  the  Camber,  and 
passed  among  the  reefs  to  Murray's  anchorage,  on  the  north- 
east side  of  the  island,  where  we  anchored  for  the  night.  Next 
morning  we  proceeded  through  the  narrows,  and  early  in  the 
forenoon,  having  seen  the  last  of  the  beautiful  though  treacher- 
ous purple  shadows  in  the  bright-green  waters  of  Bermudas,  we 
set  all  plain  sail,  and  stood  on  our  course  to  Fayal.  In  the  aft- 
ernoon we  got  up  steam  and  sounded,  lat.  32°  37/  N.,  long.  64° 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


21'  W.,  in  1500  fathoms,  with,  the 
usual  gray-white  chalky  bottom  which 
surrounds  the  reefs.  A  serial  tem- 
perature sounding  indicated  a  distri- 
bution of  temperature  very  similar  to 
that  at  Station  LY.  to  the  north  of 
Bermudas ;  the  warm  band  to  a  depth 
of  350  fathoms  was  still  very  marked 
(Fig.  1). 

Our  position  at  noon  on  the  15th 
was,  lat.  33°  41'  K,  long.  61°  28'  W., 
1610  miles  from  Fayal. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th  we 
sounded  in  2575  fathoms,  with  a  bot- 
tom of  reddish  ooze  containing  many 
foraminifera.  The  bottom  tempera- 
ture was  1°'5.  A  small,  rather  heavy 
trawl,  with  a  beam  11^  feet  in  length, 
was  put  over  in  the  morning;  but 
when  it  was  hauled  in,  about  live  in 
the  afternoon,  it  was  found  that  it  had 
not  reached  the  bottom.  This  was 
the  first  case  of  failure  with  the  trawl ; 
it  was  probably  caused  by  the  drift  of 
the  ship  being  somewhat  greater  than 
we  supposed.  The  net  contained  a 
specimen  of  one  of  the  singular  and 
beautiful  fishes  belonging  to  the  Ster- 
noptychidw,  an  aberrant  family  of  the 
Physostomi,  distinguished  by  having 
on  some  part  of  the  body  ranges  of 
spots  or  glands  producing  a  phosphor- 
escent secretion.  The  surface  of  the 
body  is  in  most  of  the  species  devoid 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA, 


11 


of  scales,  but  in  lieu  of  these  the  surface  of  the  skin  is  broken 
up  into  hexagonal  or  rectangular  arese,  separated  from  one  an- 
other by  dark  lines,  and  covered  with  brilliant  silvery  pigment 
dashed  with  various  shades  of  bronze,  or  green,  or  steel-blue. 
We  have  taken,  in  all,  five  or  six  species  of  these  fishes  in  the 
net  when  dredging  or  trawling.  They  certainly,  however,  do 
not  come  from  the  bottom ;  it  seems  probable  that  they  are 
caught  in  the  net  on  its  passage  at  some  little  distance  below 
the  surface,  where  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  a  con- 
siderable development  of  a  peculiar  pelagic  fauna. 


Fig.  2.—Scalpellum  regium,  Wyvili.e  Thomson.   Natural  size.   a.  Males  lodged  within  the 
edge  of  the  scutum.   (No.  63.) 

On  the  17th  the  trawl  was  lowered  at  seven  in  the  morning, 
and  in  the  afternoon  a  sounding  was  taken  in  2850  fathoms. 


12 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


Several  examples  of  a  large  and  handsome  species  of  the  genus 
Scalpellum  came  up  in  the  trawl,  a  few  still  adhering  to  some 
singular-looking  concretionary  masses  which  they  brought  up 
along  with  them. 

Scalpellum  regium  (Fig.  2)  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  known 
living  species  of  the  genus.  The  extreme  length  of  a  full-sized 
specimen  of  the  female  is  60  mm.,  of  which  40  mm.  are  occu- 
pied by  the  capitulum  and  20  mm.  by  the  peduncle.  The  capit- 
ulum  is  much  compressed,  25  mm.  in  width  from  the  occludent 
margin  of  the  scutum  to  the  back  of  the  carina.  The  valves 
are  14  in  number ;  they  are  thick  and  strong,  with  the  lines  of 
growth  strongly  marked,  and  they  fit  very  closely  to  one  an- 
other, in  most  cases  slightly  overlapping.  When  living,  the  ca- 
pitulum is  covered  with  a  pale-brown  epidermis,  with  scattered 
hairs  of  the  same  color. 

The  scuta  are  slightly  convex,  nearly  once  and  a  half  as  long 
as  broad.  The  upper  angle  is  considerably  prolonged  upward, 
and,  as  in  most  fossil  species,  the  centre  of  calcification  is  at 
the  upper  apex.  A  defined  line  runs  downward  and  backward 
from  the  apex  to  the  angle  between  the  lateral  and  basal  mar- 
gins. The  occludent  margin  is  almost  straight;  there  is  no 
depression  for  the  adductor  muscle,  and  there  is  no  trace  of 
notches  or  grooves  along  the  occludent  margin  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  males;  the  interior  of  the  valve  is  quite  smooth. 
The  terga  are  large,  almost  elliptical  in.  shape,  the  centre  of  cal- 
cification at  the  upper  angle.  The  carina  is  a  handsome  plate, 
very  uniformly  arched,  with  the  umbo  placed  at  the  apex ;  two 
lateral  ridges  and  a  slight  median  ridge  run  from  the  umbo  to 
the  basal  margin  ;  the  lower  part  of  the  valve  widens  out  rapid- 
ly, and  the  whole  is  deeply  concave.  The  rostrum,  as  in  Scal- 
pellum vulgare,  is  very  minute,  entirely  hidden  during  life  by 
the  investing  membrane.  The  upper  latera  are  triangular,  the 
upper  angle  curving  rather  gracefully  forward ;  the  umbo  of 
growth  is  apical. 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


13 


The  rostral  latera  are  long  transverse  plates  lying  beneath 
the  basal  margins  of  the  scuta.  The  carinal  latera  are  large 
and  triangular,  with  the  apex  curved  forward  very  much  like 
the  upper  ]atera,  and  the  infra-median  latera  are  very  small, 
but  in  form  and  direction  of  growth  nearly  the  same. 

The  peduncle  is  round  in  section  and  strong,  and  covered 
with  a  felting  of  light-brown  hair.  The  scales  of  the  peduncle 
are  imbricated  and  remarkably  large,  somewhat  as  in  8.  orna- 
tum,  Dak  win.  About  three,  or  at  most  four,  scales  pass  entire- 
ly round  the  peduncle.  The  base  of  attachment  is  very  small, 
the  lower  part  of  the  peduncle  contracting  rapidly.  Some  of 
the  specimens  taken  were  attached  to  the  lumps  of  clay  and 
manganese  concretions,  but  rather  feebly,  and  several  of  them 
were  free,  and  showed  no  appearance  of  having  been  attached. 
There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  they  had  all  been  more  or  less 
securely  fixed,  and  had  been  pulled  from  their  places  of  attach- 
ment by  the  trawl.  On  one  lump  of  clay  there  were  one  ma- 
ture specimen  and  two  or  three  young  ones,  some  of  these  only 
lately  attached.  The  detailed  anatomy  of  this  species  will  be 
given  hereafter,  but  the  structure  of  the  soft  parts  is  much  the 
same  as  in  Scalpellum  vulgare. 

In  two  specimens  dissected  there  was  no  trace  of  a  testis  or 
of  an  intromittent  organ,  while  the  ovaries  were  well  devel- 
oped. I  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  large  attached  examples 
are  females,  corresponding,  in  this  respect,  with  the  species  oth- 
erwise also  most  nearly  allied,  S.  omatum. 

In  almost  all  the  specimens  which  were  procured  by  us,  sev- 
eral males,  in  number  varying  from  five  to  nine,  were  attached 
within  the  occludent  margins  of  the  scuta,  not  imbedded  jn  the 
chitinous  border  of  the  valve,  or  even  in  any  way  in  contact 
with  the  shell,  but  in  a  fold  of  the  body-sac  quite  free  from 
the  valve.  They  were  ranged  in  rows,  sometimes  stretching — 
as  in  one  case  where  there  were  seven  males  on  one  side — along 
the  whole  of  the  middle  two-thirds  of  the  edge  of  the  tergum. 


14 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


The  male  of  Scalpellum  regium  (Fig.  3)  is  the  simplest  in 
structure  of  these  parasitic  males  which  have  yet  been  observed. 

It  is  oval  and  sac-like,  about  2  mm.  in  length  by 
9  mm.  in  extreme  width.  There  is  an  open- 
ing at  the  upper  extremity  which  usually  ap- 
pears narrow,  like  a  slit,  and  this  is  surround- 
ed by  a  dark,  well-defined,  slightly  raised  ring. 
The  antennae  are  placed  near  the  posterior  ex- 
tremity of  the  sac,  and  resemble  closely  in 
form  those  of  S.  vulgare.  The  whole  of  the 
sac,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  bald  patch 
near  the  point  of  attachment,  is  covered  with 
fine  chitinous  hairs  arranged  in  transverse 
rings.  There  is  not  the  slightest  rudiment  of 
a  valve,  and  I  could  detect  no  trace  of  a  jointed 
thorax,  although  several  specimens  were  ren- 
dered very  transparent  by  boiling  in  caustic 
potash.  There  seems  to  be  no  oesophagus  nor 
stomach,  and  the  whole  of  the  posterior  two-thirds  of  the  body 
in  the  mature  specimens  was  filled  with  a  lobulated  mass  of 
sperm-cells.  Under  the  border  of  the  mantle  of  one  female 
there  were  the  dead  and  withered  remains  of  five  males,  and 
in  most  cases  one  or  two  of  the  males  were  not  fully  devel- 
oped ;  several  appeared  to  be  mature,  and  one  or  two  were  dead 
— empty,  dark-colored  chitine  sacs. 

The  concretionary  masses  to  which  the  barnacles  adhered 
were  irregular  in  form  and  size.  One,  for  example,  to  which  a 
large  Scalpellum  was  attached,  was  irregularly  oval  in  shape, 
about  three  centimetres  in  length  and  two  in  width.  The  sur- 
face was  mammillated  and  finely  granulated,  and  of  a  dark- 
brown  color,  almost  black.  A  fracture  showed  a  semi-crystal- 
line structure ;  the  same  dark-brown  material  arranged  in  an 
obscurely  radiating  manner  from  the  centre,  and  mixed  with 
a  small  quantity  of  grayish-white  clayey  matter.    This  nodule 


Fig.  3.— Male  of  Scal- 
pellum  regium. 
Twenty  times  the 
natural  size.  (No  63.) 


Plate  XV.    The  track  of  the  Ship  from  Bermudas  to  Madeira. 


chap.  I.]  BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA.  15 

was  examined  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  and  found  to  contain,  like  the 
nodules  dredged  in  2435  fathoms  at  Station  XVL,  700  miles  to 
the  east  of  Sombrero,  a  large  percentage  of  peroxide  of  manga- 
nese. Some  other  concretionary  lumps  were  of  a  gray  color, 
but  all  of  them  contained  a  certain  proportion  of  manganese, 
and  they  seemed  to  be  gradually  changing  into  nodules  of  py- 
rolusite  or  wad  by  some  process  of  infiltration  or  substitution. 

On  Wednesday,  June  18th,  we  resumed  our  course  with  a 
fine  breeze,  force  5  to  7,  from  the  south-east.  In  this  part  of 
our  voyage  we  were  again  greatly  struck  with  the  absence  of 
the  higher  forms  of  animal  life.  Not  a  sea-bird  was  to  be  seen, 
with  the  exception  of  a  little  flock  of  Mother  Carey's  chickens, 
here  apparently  always  Thalassidroma  Wilsoni,  which  kept 
playing  round  the  ship  on  the  watch  for  food,  every  now  and 
then  concentrating  upon  some  peculiarly  rich  store  of  offal  as  it 
passed  astern,  and  staying  by  it  while  the  ship  went  on  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  fluttering  above  the  water  and  daintily  touch- 
ing it  with  their  feet  as  they  stooped  and  picked  up  the  float- 
ing crumbs,  and  then  rising  and  scattering  in  the  air  to  over- 
take us  and  resume  their  watch. 

The  sea  itself  in  the  bright  weather,  usually  under  a  light 
breeze,  was  singularly  beautiful — of  a  splendid  indigo-blue  of 
varying  shades  as  it  passed  from  sunlight  into  shadow,  flecked 
with  curling  white  crests ;  but  it  was  very  solitary :  day  after 
day  went  by  without  a  single  creature  —  shark,  porpoise,  dol- 
phin, or  turtle  —  being  visible.  Some  gulf -weed  passed  from 
time  to  time,  and  bunches  of  a  species  of  Fucus,  either  F.  nodo- 
sus  or  a  very  nearly  allied  form,  evidently  living  and  growing, 
and  participating  in  the  wandering  and  pelagic  habits  of  Sar- 
gassum.  The  floating  islands  of  the  gulf -weed,  with  which  we 
had  become  very  familiar,  as  we  had  now  nearly  made  the  cir- 
cuit of  the  "  Sargasso  Sea,"  are  usually  from  a  couple  of  feet 
to  two  or  three  yards  in  diameter,  sometimes  much  larger :  we 
have  seen,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  fields  several  acres  in  ex- 


16 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


tent,  and  such  expanses  are  probably  more  frequent  nearer  the 
centre  of  its  area  of  distribution. 

They  consist  of  a  single  layer  of  feathery  bunches  of  the 
weed  {Sargassum  bacciferum),  not  matted,  but  floating  nearly 
free  of  one  another,  only  sufficiently  entangled  for  the  mass  to 
keep  together.  Each  tuft  has  a  central  brown  thread-like 
branching  stem  studded  with  round  air-vesicles  on  short  stalks, 
most  of  those  near  the  centre  dead,  and  coated  with  a  beauti- 
ful netted  white  polyzoon.  After  a  time  vesicles  so  incrusted 
break  off,  and  where  there  is  much  gulf -weed  the  sea  is  studded 
with  these  little  separate  white  balls.  A  short  way  from  the 
centre,  toward  the  ends  of  the  branches,  the  serrated  willow-like 
leaves  of  the  plant  begin ;  at  first  brown  and  rigid,  but  becom- 
ing farther  on  in  the  branch  paler,  more  delicate,  and  more 
active  in  their  vitality.  The  young  fresh  leaves  and  air- vesicles 
are  usually  ornamented  with  the  stalked  vases  of  a  Campanu- 
laria.  The  general  color  of  the  mass  of  weed  is  thus  olive  in 
all  its  shades,  but  the  golden  olive  of  the  young  and  growing 
branches  greatly  predominates.  This  color  is,  however,  greatly 
broken  up  by  the  delicate  branching  of  the  weed,  blotched  with 
the  vivid  white  of  the  incrusting  polyzoon,  and  riddled  by 
reflections  from  the  bright -blue  water  gleaming  through  the 
spaces  in  tlie  net-work.  The  general  effect  of  a  number  of  such 
fields  and  patches  of  weed,  in  abrupt  and  yet  most  harmonious 
contrast  with  the  lanes  of  intense  indigo  which  separate  them, 
is  very  pleasing. 

These  floating  islands  have  inhabitants  peculiar  to  them,  and 
I  know  of  no  more  perfect  example  of  protective  resemblance 
than  that  which  is  shown  in  the  gulf -weed  fauna.  Animals 
drifting  about  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  with  such  scanty  cover 
as  the  single  broken  layer  of  the  sea -weed,  must  be  exposed 
to  exceptional  danger  from  the  sharp-eyed  sea-birds  hovering 
above  them,  and  from  the  hungry  fishes  searching  for  prey  be- 
neath ;  but  one  and  all  of  these  creatures  imitate  in  such  an  ex- 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


17 


traordinaiy  way,  both  in  form  and  coloring,  their  floating  hab- 
itat, and  consequently  one  another,  that  we  can  well  imagine 
their  deceiving  both  the  birds  and  the  fishes.  Among  the  most 
curious  of  the  gulf-weed  animals  is  the  grotesque  little  fish  An- 
tennarius  marmoratus  (Fig.  44,  vol.  i.,  p.  188),  which  finds  its 
nearest  English  ally  in  the  "fishing  frog"  (Lojphius piscatori- 
us),  often  thrown  up  on  the  coast  of  Britain,  and  conspicuous 
for  the  disproportionate  size  of  its  head  and  jaws,  and  for  its 
general  ugliness  and  rapacity.  JSTone  of  the  examples  of  the 
gulf -weed  Antennarius  which  we  have  found  are  more  than  50 
mm.  in  length,  and  we  are  still  uncertain  whether  such  individ- 
uals have  attained  their  full  size.  It  is  this  little  fish  which 
constructs  the  singular  nests  of  gulf-weed,  bound  in  a  bundle 
with  cords  of  a  viscid  secretion,  which  have  been  already  men- 
tioned as  abundant  in  the  path  of  the  Gulf-stream. 

Scillwa  jpelagica,  one  of  the  shell-less  mollusca,  is  also  a  fre- 
quent inhabitant  of  the  gulf -weed.  A  little  short-tailed  crab 
(Nautilograjpsus  minutus)  swarms  on  the  weed  and  on  every 
floating  object,  and  it  is  odd  to  see  how  the  little  creature  usu- 
ally corresponds  in  color  with  whatever  it  may  happen  to  in- 
habit. These  gulf-weed  animals,  fishes,  mollusca,  and  crabs,  do 
not  simply  imitate  the  colors  of  the  gulf -weed ;  to  do  so  would 
be  to  produce  suspicious  patches  of  continuous  olive ;  they  are 
all  blotched  over  with  bright  opaque  white,  the  blotches  gener- 
ally rounded,  sometimes  irregular,  but  at  a  little  distance  abso- 
lutely undistinguishable  from  the  patches  of  Membranipora  on 
the  weed.  Mr.  Murray,  who  has  the  general  superintendence 
of  our  surface  work,  brings  in  curious  stories  of  the  habits  of 
the  little  crabs.  He  observes  that  although  every  floating  thing 
upon  the  surface  is  covered  with  them,  they  are  rarely  met  with 
swimming  free,  and  that  whenever  they  are  dislodged  and  re- 
moved a  little  way  from  their  resting-place  they  immediately 
make  the  most  vigorous  efforts  to  regain  it.  The  other  day  he 
amused  himself  teasing  a  crab  which  had  established  itself  on 

II.— 2 


18 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


the  crest  of  a  Physalia.  Again  and  again  he  picked  it  off  and 
put  it  on  the  surface  at  some  distance,  but  it  always  turned  at 
once  to  the  Physalia  and  struck  out,  and  never  rested  until  it 
had  clambered  up  into  its  former  quarters. 

On  Thursday,  the  19th,  we  sounded  in  2750  fathoms  in  a 
gray  mud  containing  many  foraminifera.  Position  of  the  ship 
at  noon,  lat.  35°  29'  K,  long.  50°  53'  W. 

The  wind  now  gradually  freshened,  and  for  the  next  three 
days  we  went  on  our  course  with  a  fine  breeze,  force  from  4  to 
7,  from  the  southward,  sounding  daily  at  a  depth  of  about  2700 
fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  reddish-gray  ooze.  On  Tuesday,  the 
24th,  the  trawl  was  put  over  in  2175  fathoms,  lat.  38°  3'  K, 
long.  39°  19/  W.,  about  500  miles  from  the  Acores.  As  in  most 
of  the  deep  trawls  on  gray  mud,  a  number  of  the  zocecia  of  del- 
icate brandling  polyzoa  wTere  entangled  in  the  net.  One  of 
these  on  this  occasion  was  very  remarkable  from  the  extreme 
length  (4  to  5  mm.)  of  the  pedicels  on  which  its  avicularia  were 
placed.  Another  very  elegant  species  was  distinguished  by  the 
peculiar  sculpture  of  the  cells,  reminding  one  of  those  of  some 
of  the  more  ornamented  Lejpralim. 

On  Wednesday,  the  25th,  a  serial  sounding  (Fig.  4)  showed 
that  the  layer  of  warm  water  which  envelops  Bermudas  was 
gradually  thinning  out  and  disappearing,  and  a  sounding  on  the 
27th  (Fig.  5)  brought  out  the  same  result  even  more  clearly,  the 
isotherm  of  16°  C,  which  at  Station  LIX.  was  at  a  depth  of  330 
fathoms,  having  now  risen  to  50  fathoms  below  the  surface. 

On  Monday,  the  30th  of  June,  we  sounded  in  1000  fathoms, 
about  114  miles  westward  from  Fayal.  The  dredge  was  put 
over  early  in  the  forenoon,  and  came  up  half  filled  with  a  gray 
ooze  with  a  large  proportion  of  the  dead  shells  of  pteropods, 
many  foraminifera,  and  pebbles  of  pumice.  Many  animal  forms 
of  great  interest  were  found  entangled  in  the  swabs,  or  sifted 
out  of  the  mud.  A  schizopod  crustacean  of  large  size,  and 
great  beauty  of  form  and  brilliancy  of  coloring,  came  up  in  this 


PLATE  X VI.— DIAGRAM  OF  THE  VERTICAL  DISTRIBUTIO 


)F  TEMPERATURE  BETWEEN  BERMUDAS  AND  MADEIRA. 


Fig.  C>.—Gnathophausia  yigas,  Von  Willemoes-Soum.   Natural  size.    (No.  09.) 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


21 


haul.  Dr.  von  Willemoes-Suhm  regards  it  as  congeneric  with 
the  species  taken  at  Station  LXIX.  at  a  depth  of  2200  fathoms ; 
and  as  these  crustaceans  are  among  our  most  interesting  acqui- 
sitions during  the  voyage  between  Bermudas  and  the  Acores,  I 
will  abstract  a  brief  description  of  them  from  his  notes. 

The  two  crustaceans  for  whose  reception  Dr.  von  Willemoes- 
Suhm  proposes  to  establish  the  genus  Gnathophausia,  present 
characters  which  have  hitherto  been  found  partly  in  schizopods 
and  partly  in  phyllopods,  but  not  combined  in  the  same  animal. 
They  are.  however,  essentially  schizopods,  and  have  much  in 
common  with  Lophog  aster,  a  genus  described  in  great  detail  by 
the  late  Professor  Sars.  It  is  proposed  to  refer  Gnathophausia 
to  the  family  Lophogastrim,  which  must  be  somewhat  modi- 
fied and  expanded  for  its  reception. 

In  Gnathophausia  the  dorsal  shield  covers  the  thoracic  seg- 
ments of  the  body,  but  it  is  unconnected  with  the  last  five  of 
these.  The  shield  is  prolonged  anteriorly  into  a  spiny  rostrum. 
The  stalked  eyes  are  fairly  developed  in  the  ordinary  position. 
There  is  an  auxiliary  eye  on  each  of  the  maxillse  of  the  second 
pair. 

The  two  species  of  the  genus  are  thus  distinguished :  G. 
gigas,  n.  sp.  (Fig.  6).  Scale  of  the  outer  antenna  with  five 
teeth ;  dorsal  shield  with  the  outer  angles  of  its  posterior  bor- 


Fig.  7 — Gnathophausia  Zo'ea,  Von  Willemoes-Suhm.   Natural  size.    (No.  73.) 


der  produced  into  spines :  no  posterior  spine  in  the  middle 
line ;  length  142  mm.  Of  this  species  one  specimen  was  pro- 
cured from  a  depth  of  2200  fathoms  with  a  bottom  of  globige- 
rina  ooze  at  Station  LXIX.,  400  miles  to  the  west  of  the  Acores. 
Gnathophausia  Zo'ea  (Fig.  7)  has  the  scale  of  the  outer  an- 


22 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


tenna  with  one  tooth ;  a  long  central  spine  on  the  posterior 
border  of  the  dorsal  shield,  but  no  lateral  spines ;  length  60  mm. 
A  single  specimen  of  this  species  occurred  (Station  LXXIIL). 
On  comparing  the  figures  of  these  two  species  and  of  their  ana- 
tomical details  with  those  of  Lophogaster  given  by  Sars,  one  is 
struck  by  their  great  general  similarity ;  but  there  are  charac- 
ters presented  by  the  new  genus,  particularly  in  connection  with 
the  dorsal  shield,  which  not  only  entirely  separate  it  from  Lo- 
phogaster,  but  enlarge  our  views  on  the  whole  schizopod  group. 
In  both  species  the  shield  is  sculptured  by  ridges  traversing  it  in 
different  directions,  and  in  both  there  is  a  long  spiny  rostrum  ; 
but  this  shield  is  merely  a  soft  duplicature  of  the  skin  con- 
nected with  the  body  only  anteriorly,  and  leaving  five  thoracic 
segments  entirely  free.  In  the  structure  of  the  shield  and  in 
its  mode  of  attachment,  Gnathophausia  has  the  greatest  resem- 
blance to  Apus  among  all  crustaceans,  but  it  differs  from  it 
widely  in  other  respects.  JYebalia  is  the  only  schizopod  in 
which  the  carapace  is  not  connected  with  the  posterior  thoracic 
segments,  but  in  that  genus  the  form  of  the  carapace  is  totally 
different,  and  the  genera  are  otherwise  in  no  way  nearly  related. 
Neither  the  antennae,  nor  the  scales,  nor  the  parts  of  the  mouth, 
present  any  marked  differences  from  those  of  Zophogaster,  with 
the  exception  >}f  the  second  maxillae.  These,  with  nearly  the 
same  form  as  in  the  Norwegian  genus,  bear  a  pair  of  accessory 
eyes.  Such  eyes  are  well  known  at  the  base  of  the  thoracic  and 
even  of  the  abdominal  limbs  in  the  Euphausid^e,  a  family  with 
which  the  Lophogastrim:  have  otherwise  nothing  in  common, 
but  hitherto  they  have  not  been  met  with  in  any  other  animal 
on  any  of  the  manducatory  organs. 

Of  the  eight  pairs  of  legs  seven  are  ambulatory,  only  the  first 
pair  is,  as  in  Zophogaster,  transformed  into  maxillipeds.  The 
gills  are  arborescent,  and  attached  to  the  bases  of  the  legs.  The 
abdomen  and  its  appendages  scarcely  differ  from  those  of  Lopho- 
gaster.    We  find  here  also  that  the  last  segment  is  apparently 


Plate  XVII,    Meteorological  0 


N  Barometer 


ft 


BiyBulb  Thermometer 


1 


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28- 


rrvations  for  the  month  of  June,  1873. 


Bulb  Thermometer 


Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


uz^rvbe^s  IteTveatfi/  its  fbrc&  c*&c&?~e&j>i€f  to  Mecui/vrC's  s&plLc/ 


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CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


23 


divided  into  two.  This  would  indicate  an  approach  to  such 
forms  as  NebaUa,  which  has  nine  abdominal  segments,  or,  at  all 
events,  a  tendency  to  a  multiplication  of  segments  which,  if  re- 
ally existing,  would  scarcely  allow  the  association  of  the  genus 
with  the  true  schizopods. 

The  weather  was  remarkably  fine.  During  the  day  the  isl- 
and of  Flores  was  visible  like  a  cloud  on  the  horizon  about  fifty 
miles  to  the  northward.  As  our  sounding  was  comparatively 
shallow,  our  position  was  probably  on  a  southern  extension  of 
the  rise  which  culminates  northward  in  Flores  and  Corvo.  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  differences  between  the  Acores  and 
Bermudas  is  that,  while  Bermudas  springs  up,  an  isolated  peak, 
from  a  great  depth,  the  Acores  seem  to  be  simply  the  highest 
points  of  a  great  plateau-like  elevation,  which  extends  for  up- 
ward of  a  thousand  miles  from  west  to  east,  and  appears  to  be 
continuous  with  a  belt  of  shallow  water  stretching  to  Iceland  in 
the  north,  and  connected  probably  with  the  "  Dolphin  Rise  "  to 
the  southward — a  plateau  which  in  fact  divides  the  North  At- 
lantic longitudinally  into  two  great  valleys,  an  eastern  and  a 
western.  The  three  previous  soundings,  the  first  330  miles 
from  Fayal,  had  already  shown  that  we  were  passing  over  the 
gradual  ascent ;  and  this  dredging,  although  not  very  fruitful 
in  results,  gave  indications,  by  the  presence  of  some  compara- 
tively shallow-water  northern  species,  of  a  northern  extension 
of  its  conditions. 

Although  the  two  remote  little  archipelagoes  out  in  the  At- 
lantic have  many  things  in  common,  the  first  impression  of  the 
Acores  is  singularly  different  from  that  of  Bermudas.  Long 
before  the  white  cottages,  straggling  in  broken  lines  almost 
round  the  islands  on  the  top  of  the  sea-cliff,  or  grouped  in  vil- 
lages round  their  little  churches — white,  quaintly  edged  with 
black,  like  mourning  envelopes — in  the  mouths  of  richly  wood- 
ed ravines,  have  become  visible,  the  eye  has  been  dwelling  with 
pleasure  on  the  bold  outline  of  the  land,  running  up  everywhere 


24 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


into  magnificent  ridges  and  pinnacles,  and  has  sometimes  been 
almost  startled  by  the  sudden  unveiling  of  a  majestic  peak 
through  a  rift  in  the  clouds  far  up  in  the  sky. 

As  the  islands  draw  nearer,  the  hazy  blues  and  purples  give 
place  to  vivid  shades  of  green,  and  these,  at  first  blending  and 
indistinct,  gradually  resolve  themselves  into  a  rich  and  luxuri- 
ant cultivation,  filling  up  the  valleys  with  dense  woods  of  pine 
and  sweet  chestnut,  covering  the  slopes  wherever  it  is  possible 
to  work  with  orange-groves,  vineyards,  and  fields  of  maize  and 
wheat ;  and,  even  where  work  is  scarcely  possible,  mitigating 
the  nearly  precipitous  cliffs,  and  rendering  them  available  by 
means  of  artificial  terraces  and  slopes. 

The  Acores  are  situated  between  lat.  39°  45'  and  36°  50'  K, 
and  long.  25°  and  31°  20'  W.  They  consist  of  three  groups — 
two  small  islands,  Flores  and  Corvo,  to  the  extreme  north-west ; 
Fayal  and  Pico,  separated  by  a  narrow  and  shallow  channel  and 
forming  geologically  one  elevation,  in  the  centre ;  and  associated 
with  these,  spreading  to  the  north-eastward,  San  Jorge,  Terceira 
(the  former  seat  of  government),  and  Graciosa ;  while  the  third 
group,  nearly  a  couple  of  hundred  miles  to  the  south-westward, 
consists  of  San  Miguel,  the  richest  and  most  important  of  the 
islands,  and  the  seat  of  the  present  capital ;  Santa  Maria ;  and 
two  curious  little  patches  of  naked  rocks,  the  Formigas  and  Dol- 
labarat.  The  climate  of  the  Acores  is  mild  and  equable.  In 
summer  they  are  touched  by  the  south-east  trades,  or  rather 
they  are  just  in  the  fine-weather  edge  of  the  variables.  In  win- 
ter they  are  subject  to  heavy  gales  from  the  south-west.  Their 
climate  is  doubtless  influenced  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  south- 
ern deflection  of  the  Gulf -stream,  and  they  are  near  the  north- 
ern border  of  the  Sargasso  Sea.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
of  Ponta  Delgada,  in  San  Miguel,  is  17°'67  C,  0°'9  higher  than 
that  of  Palermo,  10,4  lower  than  that  of  Malaga,  and  0°*6  lower 
than  that  of  Funchal.  The  mean  winter  temperature  of  Ponta 
Delgada  is  13°'05  C,  l°-8  higher  than  that  of  Palermo,  and  2°'7 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


25 


lower  than  that  of  Funchal ;  and  the  mean  summer  temperature 
is  20°-67,  1°*3  lower  than  that  of  Palermo,  and  0°*2  lower  than 
that  of  Funchal.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  warmest  month 
at  San  Miguel  is  22°'67  C,  and  that  of  the  coldest  12°-28 ;  the 
range  between  the  extremes  is  therefore  only  about  10°  C. 

All  the  islands  are  volcanic,  and  their  structure  recalls,  in 
every  respect,  that  of  such  comparatively  modern  volcanic  dis- 
tricts as  those  of  the  Eifel  or  Auvergne.  The  high  rugged 
crests,  which  everywhere  take  the  form  of  more  or  less  com- 
plete amphitheatres,  are  the  walls  of  ancient  craters,  the  centres 
of  earlier  volcanic  action.  The  bottom  of  the  old  crater  is  now 
usually  occupied  by  a  lake,  and  in  it,  or  round  its  edges,  or  out- 
side it  on  its  flanks,  there  are  often  minor  craters,  frequently 
very  perfect  in  their  form,  which  indicate  eruptions  of  later 
date,  efforts  of  the  subsiding  fires.  The  rocks,  which  every- 
where stretch  down  in  great  undulating  masses  from  the  sides 
of  the  craters  to  the  sea,  are  lavas  of  different  dates,  some  of 
them  not  much  more  than  a  century  old ;  the  wooded  ravines 
are  sometimes  the  natural  intervals  between  lava  streams,  deep- 
ened by  rivulets  which  have  naturally  followed  their  direction ; 
more  frequently  they  are  valleys  of  erosion,  worn  by  torrents 
in  intervening  accumulations  of  loose  scoriae ;  and  the  splendid 
cliffs,  which  form  an  inaccessible  wall  round  the  greater  part  of 
most  of  the  islands,  show,  in  most  instructive  sections,  the  ba- 
saltic, trachytic,  and  trachydoleritic  lavas,  and  the  rudely  or 
symmetrically  stratified  subaerial  or  submarine  beds  of  tufa  and 
ashes,  the  products  of  successive  eruptions.  As  a  rule,  soil 
formed  by  the  wearing-down  of  volcanic  rocks  is  highly  favor- 
able to  the  growth  of  plants.  It  is  wonderful  to  see  how  the 
coulees  of  lava  and  the  mounds  of  pumice  and  ashes,  formed  by 
even  the  most  recent  eruptions — of  many  of  which  we  know 
the  dates,  such  as  those  of  1512,  1672,  1718,  and  1722  — are 
now  covered  with  corn-fields  and  vineyards,  and,  in  inaccessible 
places,  with  a  luxuriant  native  vegetation. 


20 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


Next  day  we  sounded  in  1350  fathoms,  about  twenty  miles 
west  of  Fayal,  in  the  depression  which  separates  the  western 
from  the  central  group,  and  during  the  afternoon  the  fine  bold 
island  approached  us,  alternate  cloud  and  bright  sunshine  bring- 
ing out  the  full  effects  of  its  contour  and  coloring.  The  south 
coast  of  Fayal  is  bounded  by  an  abrupt  cliff,  perhaps  from  one 
to  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  intersected  every  here  and  there 
by  deep  valleys,  and  showing,  where  the  cliff  is  too  precipitous 
to  support  vegetation,  sections  of  lava  streams  of  various  col- 
ors, and  of  beds  of  irregularly  stratified  scoriae  and  ashes.  The 
main  road  runs  along  the  top  of  the  cliff ;  and  at  intervals,  usu- 
ally at  the  point  of  intersection  of  a  wooded  gorge,  a  village  of 
low  white  cottages  clusters  round  a  black-and-white  church, 
surmounted  by  a  large  black  cross.  From  the  road  the  land 
slopes  gradually  upward,  passing  into  wide  valleys  terminating 
in  ravines  in  the  side  of  the  Caldeira,  a  peak  upward  of  three 
thousand  feet  in  height,  with  a  fine  crater  at  the  top  of  it,  not 
far  from  the  centre  of  the  island ;  or  running  up  abruptly  upon 
the  many  secondary  cones  and  mounds  of  scoriae  which  are 
scattered  in  all  directions.  On  this  side  of  the  island  wheat  is 
chiefly  cultivated,  except  in  the  valleys,  where  there  are  a  few 
vineyards  and  fields  of  maize  upon  the  slopes.  The  wheat  was 
already  yellowing  for  the  harvest.  The  fields  are  small,  sepa- 
rated by  walls  of  dark  lava,  built,  as  we  were  afterward  told, 
partly  as  shelter  from  the  high  winds,  and  partly  as  the  easiest 
means  of  stowing  the  lava  blocks,  which  have  to  be  removed 
from  the  ground  in  the  process  of  clearing.  Another  very  ef- 
fective addition  to  the  fence  serves  also  a  double  purpose :  a 
hedge  of  the  common  reed  (Arundo  donax)  is  usually  plant- 
ed within  the  wall,  and  runs  up  to  a  height  of  twelve  or  fif- 
teen feet,  adding  greatly  to  the  shelter,  and  producing  a  long, 
straight,  light  cane,  which  is  used  in  many  ways  ;  split  up,  it  an- 
swers the  purpose  of  laths  for  supporting  plaster,  and  the  round 
canes,  bound  together  and  often  fitted  in  neat  patterns,  may 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


27 


often  be  seen  in  the  peasants'  houses  forming  partitions,  cup- 
boards, or  light  odds  and  ends  of  furniture.  These  tall  reed 
hedges,  at  this  season  bearing  large,  feathery  flower -heads  on 
this  year's  shoots,  while  the  steins  of  last  year,  now  becoming 
hard  and  woody,  bear  on  side  branches  a  crop  of  small  leaves 
like  those  of  the  bamboo,  form  quite  a  peculiar  feature  in  the 
landscape.  The  Caldeira  itself,  the  father  of  the  family  of  cra- 
ters, and  evidently  the  centre  of  the  first  and  most  powerful 
outburst  of  volcanic  action,  remained  invisible  to  us — shrouded 
all  day  under  a  thick  canopy  of  cloud. 

In  the  evening  we  steamed  into  the  channel  between  Fayal 
and  Pico,  and  anchored  in  the  roadstead  of  Horta,  the  chief 
town  of  Fayal.  Here  we  were  visited  by  the  Portuguese  offi- 
cer of  health,  who,  while  making  strict  inquiries  as  to  the  pres- 
ence of  contagious  disease  in  the  ports  which  we  had  previous- 
ly visited,  said  nothing  about  the  health  of  his  own  town ;  and 
it  was  with  extreme  chagrin  that  we  learned  from  the  British 
vice-consul,  who  came  on  board  shortly  afterward,  that  Horta 
was  suffering  from  an  epidemic  of  small-pox,  which  had  latter- 
ly been  rather  severe,  especially  among  children.  Under  these 
circumstances  Captain  Nares  judged  it  imprudent  to  give  gen- 
eral leave,  and  on  that  evening  and  on  the  following  morning 
one  or  two  of  us  only  took  a  rapid  run  through  the  town  and 
its  immediate  neighborhood,  to  gain  such  a  hasty  impression  as 
we  might  of  its  general  effect. 

Horta  is  a  pretty  little  town  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  sit- 
uated in  a  deep  bay  which  opens  to  the  westward,  and  looks 
straight  across  to  the  island  of  Pico,  distant  about  four  miles. 
The  bay  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  bold  lava  promontory, 
Ponta  Espalamaca ;  and  on  the  south  by  a  very  remarkable  iso- 
lated crater,  with  one-half  of  its  bounding  wall  broken  down, 
and  allowing  the  sea  to  enter,  called  Monte  da  Guia,  a  very 
prominent  object  when  entering  the  bay  from  the  southward. 
Monte  da  Guia  is  almost  an  island,  and  apparently  at  one  time 


28 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


it  was  entirely  detached.  It  is  now  connected  with  the  land  by 
a  narrow  neck,  composed  chiefly  of  soft  scoriae  and  pumice,  in 
the  middle  of  which  there  juts  up  an  abrupt  mass  of  dark  rock 
called  "  Monte  Queimada  "  (the  burned  mountain),  formed  part- 
ly of  stratified  tufa  of  a  dark  chocolate  color,  and  partly  of 
lumps  of  black  lava,  porous,  and  each  with  a  large  cavity  in  the 
centre,  which  must  have  been  ejected  as  volcanic  bombs  in  a 
glorious  display  of  fire-works  at  some  period  beyond  the  rec- 
ords of  Acorean  history,  but  late  in  the  geological  annals  of  the 
islands. 

A  long  straggling  street  follows  the  curve  of  the  bay,  and 
forks  into  two  at  the  northern  end ;  and  cross  streets  ending  in 
roads  bounded  by  high  sheltering  walls,  many  of  them  white, 
tastefully  relieved  with  blue  or  gray  simple  frieze-like  borders, 
run  up  the  slope  into  the  country.  The  streets  are  narrow, 
with  heavy  green  verandas  to  the  houses,  and  have  a  close  feel ; 
but  the  town  is  otherwise  clean  and  tidy ;  the  houses  are  good, 
in  the  ordinary  Portuguese  style ;  and  some  of  the  convent 
churches,  though  ordinary  in  their  architecture,  are  large,  and 
even  somewhat  imposing.  The  church  of  the  monastery  occu- 
pied by  the  Carmelites  before  the  suppression  of  the  religious 
orders,  overlooking  the  town,  with  its  handsome  facade  sur- 
mounted by  three  Moresque  cupolas,  is  the  most  conspicuous 
of  these;  and  the  Jesuit  church,  built  somewhat  in  the  same 
style,  a  little  farther  back  from  the  town,  is  also  rather  effect- 
ive. The  suburbs  abound  in  beautiful  gardens ;  but  they  are 
surrounded  by  envious  walls,  and  the  unfortunate  circumstances 
of  our  visit  prevented  our  making  the  acquaintance  of  their 
possessors,  of  whose  friendly  hospitality  we  had  heard  much. 

Pico,  facing  the  town  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  narrow 
strait,  is  at  once  a  shelter  to  Horta  and  a  glorious  ornament. 
The  peak,  a  volcanic  cone  of  7613  feet  in  height,  rivals  Etna  or 
the  Peak  of  Teneriffe  in  symmetry  of  form.  The  principal 
cone  terminates  in  a  crater  about  200  feet  deep,  and  nearly  in 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


29 


the  centre  of  the  great  crater  a  secondary  cone,  very  perfect  in 
shape,  and  composed  of  scorise  and  lava,  rises  to  a  height  of  up- 
ward of  200  feet  above  its  rim.  This  little  additional  peak 
gives  the  top  of  this  mountain  a  very  characteristic  form.  The 
top  of  the  mountain  is  covered  with  snow  during  the  winter 
months,  but  it  has  usually  entirely  disappeared  before  the  end 
of  May.  The  sides  of  the  mountain,  alternately  ridged  and 
deeply  grooved,  and  studded  with  the  cones  and  craters  of 
minor  vents,  are  richly  wooded,  and  the  lower  and  more  level 
belt  sloping  down  to  the  sea-cliff  produces  abundance  of  maize, 
yams  (Calocasia  esculenta),  and  wheat.  The  other  islands  de- 
pend greatly  upon  Pico  for  their  supply  of  vegetables,  fruit, 
and  poultry.  The  morning  we  were  at  Fayal  a  fleet  of  Pico 
boats,  two -masted  with  large  lateen  -  sails,  loaded  with  green 
figs,  apricots,  cabbages,  potatoes,  and  fowls,  crossed  over  in  time 
for  early  market.  Formerly  Pico  was  the  vineyard  of  the 
Acores.  Previous  to  the  year  1853  from  twenty  to  thirty  thou- 
sand pipes  were  exported  from  the  island  of  a  dry,  rather  high- 
flavored  wine,  which  commanded  a  fair  price  in  the  markets 
of  Europe,  under  the  name  of  "Pico  madeira.1'  In  1853  the 
wretched  Oidium  Tuckeri  devastated  the  vineyards  and  reduced 
the  population  of  the  island,  who  depended  mainly  on  their 
wine  production  for  their  subsistence,  to  extreme  misery.  Noth- 
ing would  stop  the  ravages  of  the  fungus ;  in  successive  years 
the  crop  was  reduced  to  one-fourth,  one-eighth,  one-tenth,  and 
then  entirely  ceased,  and  the  inhabitants  emigrated  in  great 
numbers  to  Brazil  and  California.  Some  few  attempts  have 
been  made  to  restore  the  vines,  but  up  to  the  present  time  there 
is  practically  no  manufacture  of  wine  in  the  Acores. 

We  left  Fayal  the  morning  after  our  arrival,  and  had  one  or 
two  hauls  of  the  dredge  in  shallow  water,  from  50  to  100  fath- 
oms, in  the  channel  between  Fayal  and  Pico.  Everywhere  the 
bottom  gave  evidence  of  recent  volcanic  action.  The  dredge 
came  up  full  of  fine  dark  volcanic  sand  and  pieces  of  pumice. 


30 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP,  li 


We  were  surprised  to  find  the  fauna  varied  and  abundant.  As 
in  the  case  of  plants,  it  seems  in  some  cases  to  take  but  little 
time  for  animals  to  spread  in  undiminished  numbers  over  an 
area  where  every  trace  of  life  must  assuredly  have  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  rain  of  fire  and  brimstone.  In  the  evening 
we  passed  eastward  through  the  channel  between  Pico  and  San 
Jorge,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  fine  scenery  of  the  latter  island, 
which  rises  inland  into  a  bold  mountain  ridge,  and  presents  to 
the  sea  a  nearly  unbroken  mural  cliff,  ranging  to  upward  of  500 
feet  in  height. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July  we  anchored  in  the  road- 
stead of  Ponta  Delgada,  the  capital  of  San  Miguel,  and  the 
chief  town  of  the  A  cores.  We  were  a  little  anxious  about  Pon- 
ta Delgada,  for  we  had  been  told  at  Fayal  that  small-pox  was 
prevalent  there  also ;  and  although  our  information  was  not 
very  definite,  and  we  were  in  hope  that  it  might  prove  incor- 
rect, it  was  with  great  satisfaction  that  we  heard  from  the  quar- 
antine officer  that  they  had  had  no  cases  for  a  year  past.  Leave 
was  accordingly  freely  given,  and  we  all  prepared  to  make  the 
most  of  our  stay,  which  could  not  be  extended  beyond  five  days 
at  the  farthest,  if  we  hoped  to  hold  to  our  future  dates. 

Ponta  Delgada  is  very  like  Horta.  It  curves  in  the  same 
way  round  the  shore  of  a  bay,  and  gardens  and  orange-groves 
clothe  the  slope  of  a  receding  amphitheatre  of  hills ;  but  there 
is  more  space  about  it,  and  apparently  more  activity  and  enter- 
prise. One  of  the  first  things  we  saw  was  a  locomotive  steam- 
engine  bringing  down  blocks  of  lava,  to  satiate,  if  possible,  the 
voracity  of  the  sea,  and  enable  them  to  finish  in  peace  a  very 
fine  breakwater,  for  whose  construction  every  box  of  oranges 
exported  has  paid  a  tax  for  some  years  past.  The  wild  south- 
westerly storms  of  winter  pull  down  the  pier  nearly  as  fast  as 
it  is  built,  and  the  engineer  has  adopted  the  plan  of  simply 
bringing  an  unlimited  supply  of  rough  blocks,  and  leaving  the 
waves  to  work  their  wicked  will  with  them  and  arrange  them 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADE  IB  A. 


31 


as  they  choose.  In  this  way  the  blocks  seem  to  be  driven  into 
the  positions  in  which  they  can  best  resist  the  particular  forces 
to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  they  are  subsiding  into  a  solid 
foundation  on  which  the  building  work  is  making  satisfacto- 
ry progress.  Ponta  Delgada  is  much  larger  than  Horta ;  the 
streets  are  wider,  and  there  are  many  more  good-sized  houses. 


Fig.  8. — Altingia  excelsa,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel.  (From  a  photograph.) 

The  churches  are  numerous  and  large,  but  commonplace  and 
immemorial;  the  only  one  which  has  any  claim  to  a  monu- 
mental character  is  an  old  church  near  the  centre  of  the  town, 
which  was  formerly  attached  to  a  Jesuit  convent. 

The  market  at  Ponta  Delgada  does  not  appear  to  be  very 


32 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


good,  and,  particularly  in  the  short  supply  of  vegetables  and 
fruit,  it  seems  to  suffer  from  its  distance  from  Pico. 

On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  5th  of  July,  a  merry  party 
of  about  a  dozen  of  us  started  from  Ponta  Delgada  to  see  the 
celebrated  valley  and  lake  of  the  Furnas. 

As  the  crow  flies,  the  Furnas  village,  the  fashionable  water- 
ing-place of  San  Miguel,  where  the  hot  springs  and  baths  are, 
is  not  more  than  eighteen  miles  from  Ponta  Delgada ;  but  the 
road  is  circuitous  and  hilly,  and  the  entire  distance  to  be  gone 
over  was  not  much  less  than  thirty  miles.  We  engaged  four 
carriages,  each  drawn  by  three  mules  abreast,  and  warranted  to 
take  us  the  whole  distance,  if  we  chose,  without  drawing  bridle. 

The  first  part  of  our  route  lay  through  the  long  drawn-out 
suburbs  of  the  town,  past  one  or  two  churches  without  much 
character,  very  like  those  in  second-class  towns  in  Spain  and 
Portugal.  We  then  turned  toward  the  interior,  and  walked  up 
a  long  ascent,  not  to  harass  our  mulos  so  early  in  the  journey. 

The  road  was  dreary  and  tantalizing.  We  knew  that  it  was 
bordered  by  lovely  orange-groves,  the  last  of  the  fragrant  flow- 
ers just  passing  over,  and  the  young  fruit  beginning  to  swell, 
and  usually  about  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut ;  but  of  this  we  saw 
nothing;  our  laborious  climb  was  between  two  hot  black  walls 
of  rough  blocks  of  lava,  nine  to  ten  feet  high.  As  a  partial  re- 
lief, however,  a  tall  hedge  of  evergreen-trees  planted  close  with- 
in the  walls  rose  high  above  them,  and  threw  enough  of  shade 
to  checker  the  glare  on  the  dusty  road  beneath. 

In  the  Acores  at  one  time  the  orange-trees,  which  seem  to 
have  been  introduced  shortly  after  the  discovery  of  the  islands, 
were  planted  at  a  distance  from  one  another,  and  allowed  to  at- 
tain their  full  size  and  natural  form.  Under  this  system  some 
of  the  varieties  formed  noble  trees  with  trunks  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter.  The  wind-storms  are,  however,  frequently  very 
violent  in  winter,  and  often  when  the  fruit  was  nearly  ripe  the 
best  part  of  a  crop  was  lost,  and  the  trees  themselves  greatly 


chap,  i.]  BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA.  33 

injured  and  broken  by  a  south-westerly  gale.  Experience  has 
now  shown  that  larger  crops  may  be  procured  with  much  great- 
er certainty  by  dwarfing  and  sheltering  the  trees,  and  it  has  now 


Fig.  9. — Cryptomeria  Japouica,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel.   (From  a 

photograph.) 

become  a  nearly  universal  practice  to  surround  the  rectangular 
orchards  or  gardens,  there  called  "  quintas,"  with  a  lava  wall ; 
and,  further,  to  break  the  wind  still  more  effectually,  to  plant 
within  the  wall  a  hedge  of  quickly  growing  evergreen -trees, 
which  is  allowed  to  overtop  it  by  twenty  feet  or  so,  and  to  scat- 
ter tall  evergreens  wherever  there  is  a  clear  space  among  the 
orange-trees,  which  are  pruned  and  regulated  so  as  to  keep  well 
below  their  level. 

These  tall  hedges,  intersecting  the  country  in  all  directions, 
have  a  peculiar  but  rather  agreeable  effect.     Almost  all  the 

II.— 3 


34 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


hedge-plants  are  of  a  bright  lively  green.  The  one  most  used 
is  Myrica  faya,  a  native  plant,  which  grows  very  abundantly 
on  all  the  uplands,  and  seems  to  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  badge 
in  the  islands,  as  its  relation  Myrica  gale  is  in  the  West  High- 
lands of  Scotland.  Two  other  native  plants,  Laurus  Canariensis 
and  Persea  Indica,  are  sometimes  employed,  but  they  are  sup- 
posed to  affect  the  soil  prejudicially.  Of  late  years  a  very  ele- 
gant Japanese  shrub,  Pittosporum  undulaUim,  which  was  orig- 
inally introduced  from  England,  has  become  widely  used  as  a 
shelter-plant ;  and  an  allied  species,  Pittosporum  tobira,  is  found 
to  thrive  well  in  quintas  exposed  to  the  sea-breeze. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  culture  of  the  orange  is  the  main 
industry  of  San  Miguel,  and  that  the  wonderful  perfection  at 
which  this  delicious  fruit  arrives  has  been  sufficient  to  give  the 
island  an  advantage  over  places  less  remote,  and  to  insure  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  wealth  to  the  owners  of  the  ground.  The 
cultivation  of  the  orange  is  simple  and  inexpensive.  The  soil 
formed  by  the  wearing-down  of  the  volcanic  rocks  is,  as  a  rule, 
originally  rich.  It  is  inclosed  and  worked  for  a  year  or  two, 
and  young  plants  of  good  varieties,  from  layers  or  grafts,  are 
planted  at  distances  of  eight  or  ten  yards.  Strong  plants  from 
layers  begin  to  fruit  in  two  or  three  years.  They  come  into 
full  bearing  in  from  eight  to  ten  years,  when  each  tree  should 
produce  about  fifteen  hundred  oranges.  The  orange-trees  are 
lightly  pruned,  little  more  than  the  harsh  spiny  shoots  being 
removed.  The  surface  of  the  ground  is  kept  clean  and  tidy 
with  a  hoe,  and  it  is  manured  yearly,  or  at  longer  intervals,  by 
a  method  introduced  in  old  times  into  Britain  by  the  Romans : 
lupins,  which  send  up  a  rapid  and  luxuriant  growth,  and  pro- 
duce a  large  quantity  of  highly  nitrogenous  seed  in  the  rich 
new  soil,  are  sown  thickly  among  the  trees,  and  then  the  whole 
— straw,  pods,  and  seeds — are  dug  into  the  ground.  This  seems 
to  be  sufficient  to  mellow  the  soil,  and  any  other  manure  is 
rarely  used  for  this  crop. 


chap,  i.]  BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA.  35 

The  oranges  begin  to  ripen  early  in  November,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  beginning  of  May  a  constant  succession  of  sailing 
vessels,  and  latterly  steamers,  hurry  them  to  the  London  market. 


Fig.  10.— Araucaria  Cookei,  in  the  Garden  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto,  San  Miguel.  (From  a 

photograph.) 


36 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


The  fruit  is  gathered  with  great  care,  the  whole  population,  old 
and  young,  assisting  at  the  harvest,  and  bringing  it  down  in 
large  baskets  to  the  warehouses  in  the  town.  Each  orange  is 
then  wrapped  separately  in  a  dry  maize  leaf,  and  they  are 
packed  in  oblong  wooden  boxes,  four  to  five  hundred  in  the 
box.  They  used  to  be  packed  in  the  large  clumsy  cases  with 
the  bulging  tops,  so  familiar  in  shops  in  England  in  the  orange 
season  ;  but  the  orange  case  has  been  entirely  superseded  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  by  the  smaller  box.  About  half  a  million 
such  boxes  are  exported  yearly  from  San  Miguel,  almost  all  to 
London.  The  prices  vary  greatly.  Oranges  of  the  best  quality 
bring  upon  the  tree  eight  to  fifteen  shillings  a  thousand,  accord- 
ing to  the  state  of  the  market ;  and  the  expenses  of  gathering, 
packing,  harbor  dues,  and  freight  may  come  to  one  pound  a 
thousand  more ;  so  that,  counting  the  loss  which  with  so  perish- 
able a  commodity  can  not  fail  to  be  considerable,  each  St.  Mi- 
chael's orange  of  good  quality  delivered  in  London  costs  rather 
more  than  a  half-penny.  The  price  increases  enormously  as  the 
season  goes  on.  Several  varieties  are  cultivated,  and  one  vari- 
ety ripens  a  comparatively  small  number  of  large  fruit,  without 
seeds,  toward  the  middle  of  April,  which  bring  sometimes  ten 
times  as  much  as  the  finest  of  the  ordinary  oranges  in  the  height 
of  the  season. 

At  length,  at  an  elevation  of  six  hundred  feet  or  so,  the  walls 
of  the  quintas  were  passed,  and  we  emerged  into  the  open  coun- 
try. The  island  is  divided  into  two  somewhat  unequal  por- 
tions, an  eastern  and  a  western.  To  the  east  we  have  high  vol- 
canic ridges,  surrounding  the  picturesque  valley  of  the  Furnas, 
and  stretching,  in  rugged  peaks  and  precipitous  clefts,  to  the 
extremity  of  the  island.  The  western  portion  culminates  in  the 
Caldeira  (or  crater)  of  the  Sete-Cidades,  probably  one  of  the 
most  striking  pieces  of  volcanic  scenery  to  be  met  with  any- 
where. 

Between  the  two  there  is  a  kind  of  neck  of  lower  land,  beds 


chap,  i.]  BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA.  37 

of  lava  and  scoriae  and  a  congregation  of  small  volcanic  cones, 
wonderfully  sharp  and  perfect,  and  with  all  the  appearance  of 
being  comparatively  recent.   It  is  across  this  neck  that  the  road 


passes  to  Furnas,  and  as  it  wound  among  the  wooded  dells  be- 
tween the  cones  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  northern  coast, 
with  its  long  line  of  headlands — lava  flows  separated  by  deep 
bays  radiantly  blue  and  white  under  the  sun  and  wind,  and  pass- 


38 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


ing  up  into  deep  wooded  dells.  Beneath  us,  at  the  point  where 
the  road  turned  along  the  northern  shore,  lay  the  pretty  little 
town  of  Eibeira  Grande,  the  second  on  the  island. 

This  middle  belt  of  lower  land  is,  perhaps,  with  the  exception 
of  the  land  immediately  round  the  towns,  the  best  cultivated 
part  of  the  island.  The  volcanic  cones  are  covered  with  a  young 
growth  of  Pinus  maritimus,  with  here  and  there  a  group  of 
poplars,  or  of  Persea  Indica.  These,  and  particularly  the  first, 
are  the  trees  which  furnish  the  wood  for  the  orange-boxes ;  and 
on  our  way  we  saw  several  picturesque  groups  of  bronzed,  scant- 
ily clad  Acoreans  cutting  down  the  trees,  reducing  the  trunks 
to  lengths  suitable  for  the  different  parts  of  the  boxes,  and 
binding  up  the  branches  and  unavailable  pieces  into  scarcely 
less  valuable  fagots  of  fire-wood. 

Every  yard  of  tolerably  level  ground  was  under  crop ;  maize 
chiefly,  with  here  and  there  a  little  wheat,  or  a  patch  of  pota- 
toes or  of  tomatoes,  or  more  rarely  of  sweet-potatoes,  for  here 
Convolvulus  batatas  seems  to  have  nearly  reached  its  tempera- 
ture limit.  Many  fields,  or  rather  patches— for  each  crop  usu- 
ally covers  a  small  space  which  is  not  separated  from  the  con- 
tiguous patches  by  any  fence — are  fallow;  that  is  to  say,  are 
under  a  luxuriant  crop  of  lupin,  sown  to  be  dug  down  bodily  as 
manure,  so  soon  as  the  plant  shall  have  extracted  the  maximum 
of  assimilable  matter  from  the  water  and  air. 

After  passing  Eibeira  Grande  the  road  becomes  more  rug- 
ged, now  passing  down  into  a  deep  gorge  with  a  little  hamlet 
nestling  in  it,  and  a  bridge  spanning  the  dry  bed  of  a  wet-sea- 
son torrent ;  and  now  rising  over  the  well-cultivated  spur  of  a 
mountain  ridge.  We  stopped  for  luncheon  in  a  pretty  little 
ravine,  well  shaded  by  trees  and  watered  by  a  considerable 
stream. 

Posting  round  the  world  as  we  are  doing,  with  very  little 
spare  time  at  our  disposal,  one  impression  succeeds  another  so 
rapidly  that  it  is  sometimes  not  very  easy  to  disentangle  them 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


39 


in  one's  memory,  and  refer  each  picture  to  its  proper  place. 
This  little  valley,  now  ringing  with  English  "  chaff"  and  laugh- 
ter, and  littered  with  the  inevitable  sardine-tins  and  soda-water 
bottles,  seemed  a  reflex  of  our 'confused  cosmopolitan  condition 
of  mind.  The  tall,  smooth  tree  -  boles,  with  their  scanty  blue 
aromatic  foliage,  all  around  us  —  which  made  up  the  greater 
part  of  the  vegetation — were  the  gum-tree  {Eucalyptus  robus- 
tus),  from  New  Holland.  The  group  of  beautiful  dark  conifers 
on  the  other  side  of  the  stream,  showing  in  every  tone  of  color 
and  in  every  curve  of  their  long  drooping  branches  their  thor- 
ough luxuriance  and  "  at-homene«s,"  were  no  Atlantic  or  Euro- 
pean cypresses,  but  Cryptomeria  Japonica,  the  lawn  tree  which 
saddens  us  with  its  blighted  brown  twigs  after  a  too  hard  frost 
in  England.  The  tree  above  it  with  the  dark-green  phyllodes 
was  Acacia  melanoxylon,  from  Australia;  the  livelier  inter- 
mixed greens  were  due  to  the  Japanese  Pittosporum  undula- 
tum,  to  Persea  Indica,  and  Laurus  Canariensis — both  of  some- 
what doubtful  origin,  though  reputed  natives — and  to  the  un- 
doubtedly native  Myricafaya. 

The  Acores  have  been  particularly  fortunate  in  having  their 
climate  made  the  most  of  by  the  introduction  of  suitable  and 
valuable  plants.  When  the  islands  were  first  discovered,  they 
were  clothed  with  natural  forest,  but  during  the  earlier  period 
of  their  occupation  the  wood  was  cut  down  with  so  little  judg- 
ment that  it  was  almost  exterminated,  and  it  became  necessary 
to  send  planks  for  orange-boxes  from  Portugal.  Of  late  years, 
however,  several  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  proprie- 
tors, both  in  Fayal  and  San  Miguel,  have  interested  themselves 
greatly  in  forestry  and  acclimatization,  and  have  scattered  any 
of  their  new  introductions  which  seemed  to  be  of  practical 
value  about  the  islands  with  the  utmost  liberality.  All  the 
trees  from  Europe  and  the  temperate  parts  of  America,  north 
and  south,  and  those  of  Australia,  ISTew  Zealand,  Japan,  and  the 
cooler  parts  of  China,  seed  freely  in  the  Acores,  so  that  there 


40 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


seems  to  be  no  limit  to  their  multiplication.  A  quick-growing 
wood  is,  of  course,  the  great  desideratum,  as  it  is  chiefly  want- 
ed for  the  building  of  fires,  and  of  the  scarcely  less  ephemeral 
orange-cases.  For  this  latter  purpose,  Cryptomeria  Japonica, 
several  species  of  Eucalyptus,  Populus  nigra  and  angulata, 
and  Acacia  melanoxylon  are  already  supplanting  Pinus  mari- 
timuSy  Persea  Lndica,  and  Lauras  Canariensis. 

A  few  miles  farther  on,  the  road  left  the  coast,  and  began  to 
ascend  so  rapidly  that,  until  we  gained  the  top  of  the  ridge,  we 
had  little  help  from  our  carriages  and  mulos.  The  uplands, 
in  general  character  and  in  the  style  of  their  vegetation,  are  not 
very  unlike  some  of  the  richer  parts  of  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land. The  plants  are  somewhat  on  a  larger  scale.  The  heath- 
er is  the  Erica  Azorica,  frequently  rising  to  the  height  of 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  with  a  regular  woody  stem  much  used 
for  fire-wood.  The  bog-myrtle  is  replaced  by  the  graceful  My- 
ricafaya,  and  the  juniper  is  represented  by  a  luxuriant  spread- 
ing prostrate  form,  Juniperus  oxycedrus.  Grasses  are  numer- 
ous in  species,  and  form  a  rich  green  permanent  pasture. 
Ferns  are  very  abundant,  and  give  quite  a  character  to  the  veg- 
etation of  the  ravines  among  the  "Montas."  The  steep  cliff 
down  to  the  bed  of  a  torrent  is  sometimes  one  continuous  sheet 
of  the  drooping  fronds  of  Woodwardia  radicans,  often  six  or 
eight  feet  in  length. 

The  Woodwardia  is  certainly  the  handsomest  and  most  char- 
acteristic of  these  investing  ferns.  In  the  glades  in  San  Mi- 
guel it  is  usually  associated  with  the  scarcely  less  handsome 
Pteris  arguta,  and  with  many  varieties  of  Aspidium  dilatatum 
and  cemulum.  Here  and  there  we  come  upon  a  fine  plant  of 
Dicksonia  culcita,  the  nearest  approach  on  the  island  to  a  tree- 
fern.  The  buds  and  young  fronds  of  this  fern  are  thickly  cov- 
ered with  a  soft,  silky  down,  which  is  greatly  used  in  the  islands 
for  stuffing  beds  and  pillows. 

On  reaching  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  view  is  certainly  very 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


41 


striking.  You  find  that  you  are  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  bound- 
ing an  old  crater  of  great  extent.  The  valley  of  the  Furnas, 
richly  cultivated  and  wooded,  lies  directly  below ;  with  a  scat- 
tered town,  with  public  gardens,  baths,  and  lodging-houses, 
as  an  object  of  central  interest.  The  valley,  at  a  first  glance, 
looks  strangely  familiar,  from  its  resemblance  to  many  of  the 
valleys  in  Switzerland.  It  is  not  until  the  eye  has  wandered 
over  the  lava  ridges  and  rested  upon  the  dense  columns  of  va- 
por rising  from  the  boiling  springs,  that  one  realizes  the  critical 
condition  of  things  —  the  fact  that  he  is  descending  into  the 
crater  of  a  volcano,  which  still  gives  unmistakable  signs  of  ac- 
tivity. 

The  road  into  the  valley  is  very  steep,  zigzagging  through 
deep  cuttings  down  the  face  of  the  mountain.  It  was  about 
five  o'clock  when  our  now  somewhat  weary  cavalcade  drew  up 
before  the  door  of  the  hotel  in  the  village. 

We  had  been  told  by  the  British  consul  at  Ponta  Delgada 
that  about  four  miles  beyond  the  village,  following  a  bridle- 
path across  a  ridge  and  along  the  border  of  a  lake,  we  should 
find  a  comfortable,  commodious  hotel,  kept  by  an  Englishman, 
where,  if  we  gave  due  notice,  we  could  get  all  accommodation. 
Unfortunately  there  was  no  time  to  give  notice,  so  we  deter- 
mined to  go  on  chance. 

One  or  two  of  us  started  on2  on  foot,  while  the  gear  was  be- 
ing transferred  from  the  carriages  to  a  train  of  donkeys,  to  give 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  what  preparation  we  might,  and  to  organ- 
ize some  dinner.  We  had  a  lovely  walk — up  a  winding  path 
among  the  rocks  to  the  top  of  a  saddle,  where  a  beautiful  blue 
lake  about  a  couple  of  miles  in  length,  bordered  with  richly 
wooded  cliffs,  lay  below  us.  On  the  opposite  side,  about  a 
couple  of  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  we  could  see  Gren'a, 
Mr.  Brown's  house ;  and  nearer  us,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  a 
group  of  natural  caldrons,  where  the  water  was  bubbling  and 
steaming,  and  spreading  widely  through  the  air  a  slight  and  not 


42 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


unpleasant  odor  of  sulphur.  No  human  habitation  except  Mr. 
Brown's  was  visible ;  but  though  the  scene  seemed  singularly 
quiet  and  remote,  its  richness  and  infinite  variety  in  light  and 
shade  and  coloring  prevented  any  oppressive  effect  of  extreme 
loneliness. 

Mr.  Brown  met  us  at  the  door.    We  told  him  that  there 

i 

were  about  a  dozen  of  us  who  wanted  rooms  and  food,  and  he 
naturally  answered  that  he  had  nothing  to  give  us,  and  put  it 
to  our  common  sense  how  it  could  be  possible  that  he,  in  his 
primeval  solitude,  should  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  entertain 
a  dozen  hungry  strangers,  to  say  nothing  of  their  servants  and 
their  asses.  Notwithstanding,  there  was  a  re-assuring  twinkle 
in  Mr.  Brown's  shrewd,  pleasant  eyes.  We  wrung  an  admis- 
sion from  him  that  there  was  plenty  of  room  in  the  house,  that 
fowls  might  be  got,  and  eggs  and  tea.  Mrs.  Brown  joined  us, 
and  her  appearance  was  also  re-assuring ;  so  we  shouted  for  the 
urgent  tub,  and  left  the  rest  to  fate.  Shortly  we  saw  the  long 
string  of  asses  winding,  with  our  changes  of  raiment,  round  the 
end  of  the  lake,  and  it  was  not  to  our  surprise  that  about  eight 
o'clock  we  found  ourselves  sitting  before  an  admirable  dinner, 
with  all  our  arrangements  for  the  next  couple  of  days  settled 
in  the  most  satisfactory  way.  We  sent  the  carriages  back  to 
Ponta  Delgada,  with  orders  to  meet  us  at  midday  on  Monday 
at  Villa  Franca,  a  town  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  island ;  and 
we  engaged  some  fifteen  or  twenty  donkeys  for  Monday  morn- 
ing to  take  us  and  our  effects  over  the  ridge  and  down  the 
steep  passes  to  the  shore  road. 

Next  morning  some  of  our  party  walked  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  chapel  in  the  village,  and  afterward  went  to  see  the 
hot  springs;  others  wandered  about  on  the  slopes  and  terraces 
overlooking  the  lake,  enjoying  the  quietude  and  beauty  of  the 
place. 

But  for  the  birds,  which  were  numerous,  and  the  distant 
murmur  of  the  boiling  springs,  the  silence  was  absolute.  Now 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


43 


and  then  a  large  buzzard,  Buteo  vulgaris,  on  account  of  whose 
abundance  the  islands  were  first  named  from  the  Portuguese 
word  agor  (a  kite),  rose  slowly  and  soared  in  the  still  air.  A 
genuine  blackbird,  Turdus  merula,  poised  himself  on  the  top 
of  a  fir-tree,  and  sung  to  us  about  home ;  a  chaffinch,  Fringilla 
tintillon,  very  nearly  genuine,  hopped  on  the  path  and  acted 
otherwise  much  like  an  English  chaffinch  ;  a  bullfinch,  Pyrrhu- 
la  murina,  so  like  the  real  thing  as  to  have  given  rise  to  some 
discussion,  piped  in  the  thicket ;  and  the  canary,  Serinus  Oana- 
rius,  here  no  albino  prisoner,  but  a  yellow-green  sparrow  of  un- 
limited rapacity  in  the  way  of  garden-seeds,  settled  on  the  trees 
and  twittered  in  large  flocks.  I  walked  down  to  the  baths  by  a 
short  cut  across  the  hills  with  Mr.  Brown  in  the  afternoon,  and 
got  a  great  deal  of  pleasant  information  from  him.  It  seems 
that  he  was  very  much  identified  with  the  late  rapid  progress  of 
gardening  and  forestry.  Between  twenty  and  thirty  years  ago 
he  went  from  England,  a  young  gardener,  to  lay  out  the  splen- 
did grounds  of  M.  Jose  do  Canto  at  Ponta  Delgada ;  he  assisted 
in  various  schemes  of  horticulture  in  the  interest  of  M.  Ernest 
do  Canto,  M.  Antonio  Borges,  and  other  wealthy  proprietors, 
and  among  other  things  designed  the  pretty  little  public  garden 
at  Furnas,  which  we  passed  through  on  our  way  to  the  springs. 
The  house  which  Mr.  Brown  now  occupies,  with  about  four 
hundred  acres  of  land,  belongs,  singularly  enough,  to  a  London 
physician,  and  Mr.  Brown  acts  as  his  factor.  It  is  most  com- 
fortable and  pleasant — just  one  of  those  places  to  suggest  the 
illusory  idea  of  going  back  sometime  and  enjoying  a  month  or 
two  of  rest. 

The  principal  boiling  springs  are  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
village.  Bound  them,  over  an  area  of  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  square,  there  are  scorched-looking  heaps  like  those  which 
one  sees  about  an  iron-work,  only  whitish  usually,  and  often 
yellow  from  an  incrustation  of  sulphur.  Over  the  ground 
among  one's  feet  little  pools  of  water  collect  everywhere,  and 


44 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


these  are  all  boiling  briskly.  This  boiling  is  due>  however, 
chiefly  to  the  escape  of  carbonic  acid,  and  of  vapor  formed  be- 
low, for  the  temperature  even  of  the  hottest  springs  does  not 
seem  to  rise  to  above  90°  C.  The  largest  of  the  springs  is  a 
well  about  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  inclosed  within  a  circular 
wall.  The  water  hisses  up  in  a  wide  column  nearly  at  the  boil- 
ing-point, bubbling  in  the  centre  to  a  height  of  a  couple  of  feet, 
and  sending  up  columns  of  steam  with  a  slight  sulphurous 
smell.  A  little  farther  on  there  is  a  smaller  spring  in  even 
more  violent  ebullition,  tossing  up  a  column  five  or  six  feet 
high;  and  beyond  this  a  vent  opening  into  a  kind  of  cavern, 
not  inaptly  called  "  Bocco  do  Inferno,"  which  sends  out  water, 
loaded  with  gray  mud,  with  a  loud  rumbling  noise.  The  mud 
comes  splashing  out  for  a  time  almost  uniformly,  and  with  lit- 
tle commotion,  and  then,  as  if  it  had  been  gathering  force,  a  jet 
is  driven  out  with  a  kind  of  explosion  to  a  distance  of  sev- 
eral yards.  This  spring,  like  all  the  others,  is  surrounded  by 
mounds  of  siliceous  sinter,  and  of  lime  and  alumina  and  sulphur 
efflorescence.  The  mud  is  deposited  from  the  water  on  the 
surface  of  the  rock  around  in  a  smooth  paste,  which  has  a  high 
character  all  round  as  a  cure  for  all  skin  complaints.  When  I 
looked  at  it  first,  I  could  not  account  for  the  grooves  running 
in  stripes  all  over  the  face  of  the  rocks ;  but  I  afterward  found 
that  they  were  the  marks  of  fingers  collecting  the  mud,  and  I 
was  told  that  such  marks  were  more  numerous  on  Sunday, 
when  the  country  people  came  into  the  village  to  mass,  than  on 
any  other  day. 

At  a  short  distance  from  the  "  Caldeiros  "  a  spring  gushes  out 
from  a  crack  in  the  rock  of  a  cool  chalybeate  water,  charged 
with  carbonic  acid  and  with  a  slight  dash  of  sulphureted  hydro- 
gen. There  is  a  hot  spring  close  beside  it,  and  on  the  bank  of 
the  warm  stream  and  in  the  steam  of  the  Caldeira  there  is  a 
luxuriant  patch  of  what  the  people  there  call  "ignami,"  or  yams 
(Caladium  esculentum),  which  seems  to  thrive  specially  well  in 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


45 


such  situations.  The  flavor  of  the  aerated  water  is  rather  pecul- 
iar at  first,  but  in  the  hot,  steamy,  sulphurous  air  one  soon  comes 
to  like  its  coolness  and  freshness,  and  it  seems  to  taste  all  the 
better  from  the  green  cup  extemporized  out  of  the  beautiful  leaf 
of  the  Caladium.  The  warm  water  from  all  the  springs  finds 
its  way  by  various  channels  to  join  the  river  Quente,  which  es- 
capes out  of  the  "  valley  of  the  caves  "  at  its  north-eastern  end, 
and,  brawling  down  through  a  pretty  wooded  gorge,  joins  the 
sea  on  the  north  coast  about  six  miles  from  Villa  Franca. 

We  left  Gren'a  after  breakfast  next  morning,  our  long  train 
of  about  twenty  saddle  and  baggage  asses  winding  along  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  lake  and  up  the  steep  passes — gloriously 
fringed  and  mantled  with  Woodwardia  and  Pteris  arguta,  and 
variegated  with  copses  of  the  dark  tree-heath  and  brakes  of  the 
bright  green  faya — to  the  crest  of  the  ridge  bounding  the  north- 
ern end  of  the  valley ;  and  thence  down  crooked  and  laborious 
ways  through  many  gorges  planted  with  grafted  fruit-bearing 
chestnuts,  and  over  many  lava  spurs,  to  the  road  along  the  south 
shore,  where  we  found  the  carriages  waiting  for  us.  The  wheat 
harvest  was  going  on  vigorously  in  the  lower  lands,  and  shortly 
before  entering  Villa  Franca,  a  long  town  which  straggles  over 
four  or  five  miles  between  Eibeira  Quente  and  Ponta  Delgada, 
we  stopped  and  rested  at  a  farm-house  where  they  were  thresh- 
ing. The  carriage  I  was  in  had  fallen  a  little  behind  the  rest, 
and  when  we  came  up  the  scene  at  the  farm-yard  was  very  live- 
ly. Outside  was  the  threshing-floor,  a  hardened  round  area 
with  a  stake  in  the  centre.  The  wheat  was  spread  on  the  baked 
clay  floor,  and  two  sledges,  each  drawn  by  a  pair  of  oxen,  went 
slowly  round  and  round,  "treading  out  the  corn."  The  sledges 
were  driven,  with  much  noise  and  gesticulation,  by  tawny,  good- 
natured  Acoreans,  and  were  often  weighted  by  a  mother  or  aunt 
squatting  on  the  sledge,  holding  a  laughing  black -eyed  baby. 
The  drivers  were  armed  with  enormously  long  poles,  with  which 
they  extorted  a  certain  amount  of  attention  to  their  wishes 


46 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


from  the  unmuzzled  oxen,  much  more  intent  upon  snuffling 
among  the  sweet  straw  for  the  grains  of  wheat,  and  making  the 
most  of  their  brief  opportunity.  Within  the  house,  whither 
most  of  our  party  had  retreated  from  the  roasting  sun,  the  first 
large  entrance  room  was  encumbered  with  the  beautiful  ripe 
ears  of  maize,  of  all  colors,  from  the  purest  silvery  white  to 
deep  orange  and  red.  It  was  high  noon,  however,  and  a  lot  of 
bright-eyed  girls,  who  had  been  husking  the  maize,  had  knocked 
oif  work ;  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  strangers,  a  lad  brought  out 
a  guitar,  and  they  got  up  a  dance,  very  simple  and  merry,  and 
perfectly  decorous. 

Neither  hosts  nor  guests  understood  one  word  of  the  others' 
language,  but  by  dint  of  signs,  and  laughter,  and  human  sym- 
pathy generally,  we  got  on  wonderfully  well.  It  seemed  to  be 
the  steading  of  a  well-to-do  farmer.  There  were  other  houses 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  a  number  of  young  people  seemed  to 
have  congregated,  so  that  we  had  a  good  opportunity  of  seeing 
some  of  the  peasants.  The  men  are  generally  good-looking, 
with  spare,  lithe,  bronzed  figures,  dark  eyes,  and  wide,  laughing 
mouths,  with  fine  white  teeth.  The  women  in  the  Acores  are 
usually  inferior  to  the  men  in  appearance,  but  at  this  farm  some 
of  the  girls  were  very  good-looking  also,  with  clear  complex- 
ions, and  more  of  a  Spanish  than  a  Portuguese  type. 

From  Villa  Franca  we  drove  along  the  shore  to  Ponta  Del- 
gada,  where  we  arrived  early  in  the  evening. 

While  we  were  at  the  Furnas  some  of  our  companions  started 
in  the  other  direction,  to  the  Caldeira  of  the  Sete-Cidades,  and 
were  greatly  pleased  with  their  trip.  This  crater  is  probably 
the  most  striking  feature  in  the  scenery  of  the  island.  The 
road  to  it  from  Ponta  Delgada  goes  westward  for  some  miles 
along  the  southern  coast.  It  then  gradually  winds  upward 
through  ravines  festooned  with  Woodwardia,  and  among  rug- 
ged, volcanic  masses  clothed  with  faya  and  tree -heath,  to  the 
top  of  a  crest,  between  two  and  three  thousand  feet  in  height. 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


47 


A  wonderful  scene  then  bursts  upon  the  wanderer.  The  ridge 
is  the  edge  of  a  large  crater  two  miles  and  a  half  in  diameter, 
surrounded  by  an  unbroken  craggy  wall,  more  than  a  thousand 
feet  in  height.  The  floor  of  the  crater  is  richly  wooded  and 
cultivated.  There  are  two  small  lakes  of  a  wonderful  sapphire 
blue,  and  on  the  margin  of  one  of  them  a  village  of  white  cot- 
tages. The  zigzag  path  down  into  the  crater  is  so  steep  that 
one  or  two  of  the  parties  who  went  from  the  ship  contented 
themselves  with  the  view  of  the  valley  from  the  crest  of  the 
ridge,  and  from  all  I  hear  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  had 
the  advantage  in  every  respect  over  some  others  who  went 
down  and  had  to  come  up  again. 

Next  morning  Captain  JSTares  and  I  called  on  M.  Jose  do 
Canto,  about  whose  good  and  liberal  deeds  in  introducing  val- 
uable and  ornamental  foreign  plants,  and  distributing  them 
through  the  islands,  we  had  heard  so  much.  We  were  fortunate 
in  finding  him  at  home,  and  we  spent  a  very  pleasant  couple  of 
hours  with  him  in  his  charming  garden. 

The  trees  of  all  temperate  and  subtropical  regions  seem  to 
thrive  admirably  in  sheltered  situations  in  the  Acores.  M.  do 
Canto  has  for  the  last  thirty  years  spared  neither  money  nor 
time  in  bringing  together  all  that  appeared  desirable,  whether 
for  their  use  or  for  their  beauty,  and  in  doing  them  ample  jus- 
tice while  under  his  charge.  The  garden  is  well  situated  on 
the  slope  above  the  town ;  it  is  extensive,  and  very  beautifully 
laid  out  and  cared  for.  Great  care  is  taken  to  allow  each  in- 
dividual tree  to  attain  its  characteristic  form,  and  consequently 
some  species,  particularly  those  of  peculiar  and  symmetrical 
growth,  such  as  the  different  species  of  AUmgia,  Araucaria, 
Oryptomeria,  etc.,  are  more  perfect  probably  than  they  are  any- 
where else,  even  in  their  native  regions.  M.  do  Canto  does  not 
give  much  heed  to  the  growing  of  flowers :  his  grounds  are 
rather  an  arboretum  than  a  garden.  He  has  now  upward  of  a 
thousand  species  of  trees  under  cultivation. 


48  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  i. 

We  left  Ponta  Delgada  on  the  9th  of  July,  and  just  before 
our  departure  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  singular  relig- 
ious ceremony. 

In  one  of  the  churches  of  the  town  there  is  an  image  of  our 
Saviour,  which  is  regarded  with  extreme  devotion.  The  inhab- 
itants, in  cases  of  difficulty  or  danger,  bring  it  rich  offerings, 
and  the  wealth  of  the  image  in  jewels  was  variously  stated  to 
us  at  from  one  thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand  pounds,  in 
proportion  to  the  faith  and  piety  of  our  informants.  There 


Costume  of  the  Inhabitants  of  San  Miguel. 

had  been  great  want  of  rain  in  the  island  for  some  months  past, 
and  it  had  been  determined  to  take  a  step  which  is  taken  only 
in  extreme  cases — to  parade  the  image  round  the  town  in  sol- 
emn procession. 

People  began  to  come  in  from  the  country  by  midday,  and 
all  afternoon  the  town  wore  a  gala  appearance.    The  Acorean 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


49 


girls,  as  soon  as  they  can  afford  it,  purchase,  if  they  have  not  al- 
ready inherited,  a  long,  full,  blue  cloth  cloak,  coming  down  to 
the  heels,  and  terminating  in  an  enormous  hood,  which  projects, 
when  it  is  pulled  forward,  a  foot  at  least  before  the  face.  The 
cloak  and  hood  are  thus  a  complete  disguise,  for  if  the  lower 
part  of  the  hood  be  held  together  by  the  hand — a  very  common 
attitude,  while  the  eyes  can  be  used  with  perfect  freedom — botli 
figure  and  face  are  entirely  hidden.  These  cloaks  and  hoods 
are  very  heavy  and  close,  and  it  seems  strange  that  such  a  fash- 
ion can  hold  its  ground  where  the  conditions  are  very  similar 
to  those  in  the  extreme  south  of  Spain  or  Italy.  The  head- 
dress of  the  men  is  singular,  but  it  has  a  more  rational  relation 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  climate.  It  is  also  made  of  dark-blue 
cloth  —  a  round  cap  with  a  long  projecting  peak,  and  a  deep 
curtain  falling  over  the  neck  and  shoulders,  an  excellent  de- 
fense whether  from  rain  or  sun.  The  odd  thing  about  it  is  that 
where  the  hat  is  made  in  the  extreme  of  a  by-gone  "  mode  " 
which  still  lingers  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  island,  the  sides 
of  the  peak  are  carried  up  on  each  side  of  the  head  into  long 
curved  points,  like  horns.  The  horns  are  "going  out,"  how- 
ever, although  a  general  festa,  such  as  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  see,  still  brought  many  grotesque  pairs  of  them  into 
the  city. 

We  saw  the  procession  from  the  windows  of  the  principal 
hotel,  which  looked  across  a  square  to  the  church  from  which 
it  took  its  departure.  The  square  and  the  streets  below  us 
were,  for  hours  before,  one  sea  of  carapugas  and  capotes,  male 
and  female,  but  chiefly  the  latter,  their  wearers  sitting  on  the 
hot  pavement,  chattering  quietly.  About  five  o'clock  a  large 
number  of  acolytes  in  scarlet  tunics  left  the  church,  and  formed 
a  double  row,  lining  the  streets  in  the  path  of  the  procession. 
Then  came  a  long  double  row  of  priests  in  violet  chasubles  and 
stoles,  repeating  the  responses  to  a  portly  brother,  who  led  the 
column,  intoning  from  his  breviary.    Then  a  double  row  of 

II.— 4 


50 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


priests  in  white,  and  then  a  group  of  the  higher  clergy  in  cloth 
of  gold  and  richly  "appareled"  vestments,  preceding  the  image, 
which  was  carried  aloft  under  a  crimson  canopy.  The  image 
was  certainly  not  a  high  work  of  art,  but  it  seemed  to  be  loaded 
with  valuable  ornaments.  Behind  the  canopy  walked  the  civil 
governor  (Count  de  Praya  de  Victoria),  the  military  governor, 
and  some  of  the  high  State  functionaries,  and  the  procession 
was  closed  by  a  column  of  monks.  As  the  image  approached, 
the  people  knelt  everywhere  within  sight  of  it,  and  remained 
kneeling  until  it  was  past.  It  is,  of  course,  difficult  for  us  to 
realize  the  convictions  and  feelings  under  which  the  inhabitants 
of  San  Miguel  unite  in  these  singular  pageants.  'No  one  could 
doubt  that  the  devotional  feeling  was  perfectly  sincere ;  and  it 
was  moderate,  with  no  appearance  either  of  gloom  or  of  excite- 
ment ;  the  manner  of  the  large  crowd  was  throughout  grave 
and  decorous. 

We  looked  with  great  interest  the  next  morning  to  see 


Fig.  12.—Flabellum  alabastrum,  Moseley.   Slightly  enlarged.   (No.  78.) 


whether  our  friends  had  got  the  coveted  rain ;  but  although  the 
peaks  and  ridges  fringing  the  crater- valleys  were  shrouded  un- 


Plate  XVIII,    Meteorological  Ol\ 


Barometer 


Dry  Mb  Thermometer 


Wet 


I    3  Z 


10  II 


12  13 


14 


15  16 


ill! 


2S 


:5: 


i 


3 


- 


20 


Si 


2  2 


2-32 


22 


/  0  2 


2  J. 


.56 


nations  for  the  month  of  July,  1873. 


alb  Thermometer 


Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


fibers  l?€7iect£hy  tts  fbrce/  cux&rc&ntf  to  22eoui/vr£'s  s&cvLe/ 
17      18       19      20      21       22      23      24-     25      26      27      28      29      30  31 


-5- 


44 


£<5 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  10  MADEIRA. 


51 


der  a  canopy  of  cloud  and  mist,  the  sky  looked  as  hard  as  ever, 
not  a  whit  nearer  the  point  of  precipitation. 

Our  first  haul,  after  leaving  Ponta  Delgada,  was  in  1000  fath- 
oms, midway  between  the  islands  of  San  Miguel  and  Santa  Ma- 
ria, and  about  fifteen  miles  north-west  of  the  Formigas.  The 
bottom  was  globigerina  ooze.  The  principal  feature  in  this 
dredging  was  the  unusual  abundance  of  stony  corals  of  the 
deep-sea  group. 

Three  living  specimens  of  a  large  species  of  Fldbellum  (Fig. 
12)  were  sifted  out,  the  same  as  the  one  which  we  had  dredged 
previously  at  Station  LXXIIL,  to  the  west  of  Fayal.  The  coral- 
lum  is  wedge-shaped,  the  calicle  rising  from  an  attenuated  ped- 
icle. The  extreme  height,  from  the  end  of  the  pedicle  to  the 
margin  of  the  cup,  is  50  mm. ;  the  greatest  diameter  of  the  cal- 
icle is  65  mm.,  and  the  smallest  30  mm.  The  three  specimens 
are  very  nearly  of  the  same  dimensions. 

The  lateral  costse  make  an  angle  with  one  another  of  120°  to 
140°,  and  are  sharp  and  moderately  prominent,  with  an  irregu- 
lar edge.  The  external  surface  of  the  calicle  is  covered  with  a 
glistering  epitheca,  and  near  the  margin  is  of  a  light  pink  color. 
The  costse  of  the  faces  corresponding  to  the  primary  and  sec- 
ondary septa  are  almost  as  well  marked  as  the  lateral  costae, 
and  appear  as  irregularly  dentated  ridges,  separated  by  slight 
depressions.  The  ends  of  the  calicle  are  broadly  rounded,  and 
it  is  compressed  laterally  in  the  centre.  The  upper  margin  is 
curved,  describing  about  one-third  of  a  circle. 

There  are  six  systems  of  septa  disposed  in  five  cycles.  The- 
septa  are  extremely  thin  and  fragile.  They  are  tinged  with, 
pink,  and  covered  with  rounded  granules,  disposed  in  rows* 
The  primary  septa  are  approximately  equal  to  the  secondary,, 
giving  somewhat  the  appearance  of  twelve  systems.  These 
septa  are  broad  and  prominent,  with  a  rounded  superior  mar- 
gin, and  curved  lines  of  growth.  The  septa  of  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  cycles  successively  diminish  in  breadth,  and  are.  thus 


52 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


very  markedly  distinguished  from  one  another,  and  from  the 
primary  and  secondary  septa.  The  septa  of  the  fourth  cycle 
join  those  of  the  third  a  short  distance  before  reaching  the 
columella.  The  septa  of  the  fifth  cycle  are  incomplete.  The 
margin  of  the  calicle  is  very  deeply  indented,  the  costse  corre- 
sponding to  the  primary  and  secondary  septa  being  prolonged, 
in  conjunction  with  the  outer  margins  of  these  septa,  into  prom- 
inent pointed  processes;  similar  but  shorter  prolongations  ac- 
company the  tertiary,  and  some  of  the  quaternary  septa.  Be- 
tween each  of  the  sharp  projections  thus  formed,  the  edge  of 
the  wall  of  the  calicle  presents  a  curved  indentation. 

Two  of  the  specimens  procured  expanded  their  soft  parts 
when  placed  in  sea- water.  The  inner  margin  of  the  disk  round 
the  elongated  oral  aperture  presents  a  regular  series  of  denta- 
tions corresponding  with  the  septa,  and  is  of  a  dark  madder 
color;  the  remainder  of  the  disk  is  pale  pink.  The  tentacles 
take  origin  directly  from  the  septa.  They  are  elongated  and 
conical.  Those  of  the  primary  and  secondary  septa  are  equal 
in  dimensions,  and,  along  with  the  tertiary  tentacles,  which  are 
somewhat  shorter,  but  in  the  same  line,  are  placed  nearest  the 
mouth,  and  at  an  equal  distance  from  it.  The  tentacles  of  the 
fourth  and  fifth  cycles  are  successively  smaller  and  at  succes- 
sively greater  distances  from  the  mouth.  Placed  on  either  side 
of  each  tentacle  of  the  fifth  cycle,  and  again  somewhat  nearer 
the  edge  of  the  calicle,  there  are  a  pair  of  very  small  tentacles, 
which  have  no  septa  developed  in  correspondence  with  them. 
There  are  thus  four  successive  rows  of  tentacles,  and  the  nor- 
mal number  is  ninety  -  six.  The  tentacles  are  of  a  light  -  red 
color,  and  between  their  bases  are  stripes  of  yellowish  red  and 
light  gray. 

This  form  belongs  to  the  group  Glabella  subpedicellata  of 
Milne-Edwards,  and  probably  to  that  division  in  which  the  costse 
are  prominent  and  ridge-like  on  the  faces  of  the  corallum,  as 
well  as  on  its  lateral  margins ;  but  it  differs  from  those  de- 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


55 


scribed  under  this  head  by  Milne-Edwards  in  that  it  has  five 

cycles,  the  fifth  being  incom- 
plete, and  in  other  particulars 
which  appear  from  the  descrip- 
tion given. 

A  single  living  specimen  of  a 
coral,  referred  by  Mr.  Moseley 
to  the  genus  Ceratotrochus  (Fig. 
14),  was  obtained  from  this  haul. 
The  corallum  is  white,  the  base 
subpedicellate,  with  a  small  scar 

Fig.  14.— Ceratotrochus  nobilis,  Moseley.      of  Original  adherence.    The  prill- 
Slightly  enlarged.    (No.  78.)  .  r 

cipal  costse  are  prominent,  and 
round  the  region  of  the  base  they  are  beset  with  small  spines 
directed  somewhat  upward.  The  upper  portion  of  the  costa  is 
without  spines.  The  primary  and  secondary  septa  are  broad 
and  exsert.  Pali  are  absent ;  the  columella  is  fascicular.  The 
absence  of  pali,  the  form  of  the  columella,  and  the  nature  of 
the  base  associate  this  form  with  the  Ceratotrochi  as  defined  by 
Milne-Edwards. 

The  animal  is  of  a  dark  madder  color  on  the  region  of  the 
margin  of  the  calicle  between  the  exsert  primary  and  secondary 
septa,  and  on  the  membrane  investing  the  wall  of  the  corallum 
from  the  margin  down  to  the  commencement  of  the  spines. 
This  dark  color  is  succeeded  on  the  disk  by  a  band  of  pale  blue, 
within  which  there  is  again  a  zone  of  very  dark  madder  color 
round  the  mouth.  The  dark  coloring-matter  is  interesting,  as 
it  gives  an  absorption  spectrum  of  three  distinct  bands. 

On  Friday,  July  11th,  we  sounded  in  2025  fathoms,  376  miles 
to  the  west  of  Madeira,  the  bottom  very  well  marked  globigerina 
ooze,  and  the  bottom  temperature  1°'5  C. 

On  the  following  day  the  depth  was  2260  fathoms,  the  bot- 
tom globigerina  ooze,  and  the  recorded  bottom  temperature 
l°-8  C. ;  and  on  the  13th  the  depth  was  2675  fathoms,  with  the 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


same  very  characteristic  globigerina 
deposit,  and  a  temperature  of  2o,0  C. 
The  bottom  temperatures  in  this  sec- 
tion show  some  irregularities ;  but  as 
these  do  not  extend  beyond  0o,2  C, 
they  may  arise  from  errors  of  obser- 
vation, due  to  the  somewhat  unsatis- 
factory mode  of  registering  of  Six's 
thermometers. 

On  the  14th  we  sounded  in  2400 
fathoms ;  and  a  serial  temperature 
"  sounding  (Fig.  15)  indicated  an  al- 
%  most  total  disappearance  of  the  upper 
a  stratum  of  abnormally  warm  water; 
»  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  isotherms 
|  between  three  and  eight  hundred 
|  fathoms  showed  very  distinctly  the 
S  excess  of  heat  in  a  deeper  layer,  to 
|  which  reference  has  already  been 
§   made,  and  which,  becoming  more 

1  marked  a  little  to  the  northward, 
.s  gives  so  peculiar  a  character  to  the 
Jj   temperature  soundings  in  the  Bay  of 

2  Biscay.  In  Fig.  13  the  curves  con- 
structed from  the  serial  soundings  be- 
tween Bermudas  and  Madeira  show 
very  clearly  the  gradual  disappear- 
ance of  the  upper  warm  layer  in  pass- 
ing to  the  eastward ;  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  second  deeper  hump  near 
the  coast  of  Africa.  The  curve  mark- 
ed with  the  asterisk  constructed  from 
the  Porcupine,  Lightning ,  and  Shear- 
water soundings  is  introduced  for 
comparison. 


CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO  MADEIRA. 


57 


The  weather  for  the  last  few  days  had  been  remarkably  fine, 
with  a  pleasant  light  breeze.  When  we  turned  up  on  deck  on 
the  morning  of  the  16th,  we  were  already  at  anchor  in  the 
beautiful  bay  of  Funchal,  and  looking  at  the  lovely  garden-like 
island,  full  of  anticipations  of  a  week's  ramble  among  the  peaks 
and  currals  and  the  summer  quintas  of  our  friends — anticipa- 
tions in  which  we  were  destined  to  be  disappointed. 


Catamaran,  Feruaudo  Noronha. 


58 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  I. 


APPENDIX  A. 


Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira. 


Depth  in  Fathoms. 

iff 

o  SI  22 

r 

_  CN  CO 

gco<o 

fc< To 

if 

.2 

CO 

SO 

1 
.2 

d 

c 
.2 

f  f 
0  0 

£f  ? 

g  CO 

"■5   .  bo 

ti 

*>  cf 

«  -tf  C 

S  «  o 

S  i  0 

!J 

Surface. 

23°  -0  C. 

23° 

•3  C. 

22° 

■o  C. 

21° 

7C. 

21 

1-  C. 

23 

39-C. 

22 

•5  c. 

25 

19 

5 

50 

18 

9 

75 

IS 

•3 

100 

18 

•4 

17* 

•8 

17 

7 

17 

17 

':3 

17 

:6 

200 

17 

•4 

17 

•o 

17 

2 

16 

•s 

16 

.8 

17 

•4 

300 

1G 

•9 

14 

•9 

15 

6 

14 

•3 

14 

•8 

16 

•1 

400 

12 

•2 

11 

•o 

12 

0 

11 

•2 

11 

•3 

13 

•9 

500 

7 

•7 

6 

•s 

7 

•9 

7 

•2 

7 

•6 

11 

•0 

600 

5 

•3 

5 

•o 

5 

•0 

7 

•2 

700 

4 

•1 

4 

•1 

4 

•3 

5 

•3 

800 

3 

•7 

3 

•9 

3 

•7 

4 

•7 

900 

3 

•3 

3 

•5 

4 

•2 

1000 

3 

•1 

3 

•3 

3 

•7 

1100 

3 

0 

3 

•0 

3 

•3 

1200 

2 

•7 

3 

•0 

3 

•1 

1300 

2 

•8 

2 

•9 

1400 

2 

•3 

2 

•8 

1500 

2:3 

2 

•3 

2 

•7 

Bottom  Tern-) 
perature.  ) 

2° -3 

1° 

•7 

1° 

•5 

1° 

5 

l°-8 

1( 

•7 

Depth  

1500 

2360 

2575 

2S50 

2875 

2700 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

Station  No.  66. 
Lat.  37°24'N. 
Long.  44°  14'  W. 

Station  No.  67. 
Lat.    37°  54'  N. 
Long.  41°  44'  W. 

Station  No.  68. 
Lat.    38°  3'N. 
Long.  39°  19'  W. 

iff 

0  ™  TO 
■■3   .  si 
5  c 

Station  No.  71. 
Lat.    38°  18'  N. 
Long.  34°  48'  W. 

Station  No.  72. 
Lat.    38°  34'  N. 
Long.  32°  47'  W. 

Station  No.  73. 
Lat.    38°  30'  N. 
Long.  31°  14'  W. 

Surface. 

21° 

•1 C. 

21° 

•1 C. 

21° -1  C. 

21° 

•7  C. 

21 

•7  C. 

21 ! 

•7  C. 

20° 

•6  C. 

25 

17 

•9 

17 

•9 

50 

16 

•1 

17 

■3 

75 

15 

•5 

17 

•1 

100 

17 

•2 

17* 

:5 

16' 

•3 

14 

•8 

16 

•5 

15' 

•4 

200 

16 

•3 

16 

•0 

15 

•2 

12 

•8 

12 

•8 

13 

8 

300 

15 

•6 

15 

•6 

13 

5 

10 

•3 

11 

•3 

12 

•6 

400 

13 

•1 

12 

•7 

10 

•9 

7 

•6 

S 

•4 

9 

3 

500 

10 

•1 

8 

•2 

8 

•3 

5 

•s 

7 

•3 

7 

3 

600 

7 

•0 

5 

•3 

6 

•1 

5 

•0 

6 

6 

•3 

700 

4 

•8 

4 

•8 

5 

•0 

4 

•2 

4 

•9 

5 

3 

800 

3 

•3 

4 

•3 

3 

•5 

4 

•3 

4 

7 

900 

3 

•2 

4 

•0 

•1 

3 

•s 

4 

•1 

1000 

3 

•2 

3 

•7 

•0 

3 

•1 

3 

•7 

1100 

2 

•8 

3 

•3 

3 

•1 

1200 

2 

•s 

3 

■1 

1300 

2 

•9 

2 

•9 

1400 

2 

•8 

2 

•8 

1500 

2 

■6 

Bottom  Tem-\ 
perature.  j 

1° 

•s 

1° 

•s 

l°-6 

1° 

•7 

2° -2 

2< 

'■8 

3° 

■7 

Depth  

2750 

2700 

2175 

2200 

1675 

1240 

1000 

CHAP.  I.] 


BERMUDAS  TO 


MADEIRA. 


59 


Depth  in  Fathoms. 

1 

Station  No.  76. 
Lat.    38°  IT  N 
Long.  27°  9'W. 

Station  No.  78. 
Lat.    37°  24'  N. 
Long.  25°  13'  W. 

Station  No.  79. 
Lat.    36°  2T  N. 
Long.  23°  3T  W. 

ill 
§«« 

Station  No.  81. 
Lat.    34°  IT  N. 
Long.  19°  52'  W. 

Station  No.  82. 
Lat.    33°  46'  N. 
Long.  19°  IT  W. 

Sin-Pipe 

21° 

•1  C. 

21° 

•7  C. 

22° 

•o  C. 

21° 

•7  C. 

21° -7  C. 

21° 

■5C. 

21° 

•1  C. 

25 

17 

•5 

IS 

•6 

50 

15 

•4 

16 

•6 

75 

13 

•9 

15 

•1 

100 

13 

•6 

14 

:2 

13 

.5 

14 

•1 

14 

•3 

200 

12 

•o 

12 

•1 

11 

•8 

11 

•8 

12 

•0 

300 

10 

9 

10 

•7 

10 

•7 

10 

•6 

10 

•4 

400 

9 

0 

9 

•3 

10 

•4 

10 

•6 

500 

8 

•3 

8 

■7 

9 

•4 

9 

•6 

600 

7 

•2 

7 

•5 

8 

•7 

700 

5 

■3 

6 

'7 

7 

•o 

7 

•9 

800 

4 

•s 

5 

■4 

6 

•o 

5 

•7 

900 

4 

•2 

4 

•1 

4 

•4 

4 

•8 

1000 

3 

•8 

3 

•5 

3 

•8 

1100 

3 

•4 

3 

•5 

1200 

3 

•o 

3 

•o 

1300 

2 

•6 

3 

•2 

1400 

2 

•4 

2 

•6 

1500 

2 

•2 

2 

•5 

"  Bottom  Tern-) 
perature.  f 

4° 

•2 

l°-8 

2°-0 

i°-s 

2° 

2 

Depth  

900 

1000 

2025 

2600 

2675 

2400 

1650 

60 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  i. 


APPENDIX  B. 


Table  of  Specific  Gravities  observed  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira. 


Date, 
1873. 

Latitude 
North. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (d.)  at 
which  Water 
was  taken. 

Temperature 

Temperature 

it'.)  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  150-56. 
Water  at 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'his. 

Fathoms. 

Jane  14 

32°  54' 

63° 

22' 

2360 

Surface. 

23° 

•3  c. 

25° 

•  4C. 

1*02432 

1*02726 

1-02517 

Bottom. 

1 

'6 

24 

•  6 

1-02411 

1  '02660 

1*02857 

15 

33' 

41 

61 

28 

Surface. 

22 

'8 

23 

•  5 

1  *02498 

1*02712 

1-02515 

10 

34 

28 

58 

56 

2575 

21 

'7 

23 

•  0 

1-02516 

1-02715 

1  -02552 

Bottom. 

1 

"5 

24 

•  0 

1-02482 

1*02711 

1-02909 

IT 

34' 

54 

56 

38 

2800 

Surface. 

21 

"7 

22 

•  8 

1*02520 

1*02713 

1-02549 

IS 

35 

7 

52 

32 

2875 

" 

21 

'1 

22 

•  5 

1-02537 

1 *02722 

1*02576 

150 

17 

"2 

23 

•  3 

1  -02506 

1-02711 

1-02670 

250 

16 

'2 

23 

•  2 

1-024SS 

1*02693 

1*02677 

500 

7 

•2 

23 

•25 

1-02409 

1*02614 

1*02763 

Bottom. 

1 

•8 

23 

•  2 

1-02510 

1-02715 

1*02912 

19 

35* 

29 

50' 

53 

2750 

Surface. 

21 

*7 

23 

•  1 

1-02524 

1*02726 

1*02562 

Bottom. 

19 

•  7 

1-02512 

1*02619 

1-02817 

21 

36 

33 

47* 

58 

2700 

Surface. 

22 

'5 

23 

•  2 

1-02522 

1*02727 

1-02541 

Bottom. 

1 

•7 

23 

•  7 

1-02384 

1-02605 

1*02804 

22 

37' 

24 

44 

14 

2750 

Surface. 

21 

•1 

22 

•  4 

1-02536 

1*02716 

1-02570 

Bottom. 

1 

•8 

23 

•  6 

1-02413 

1-02630 

1-02S2S 

23 

37' 

54 

4l' 

44 

2700 

Surface. 

21 

•1 

21 

•  7 

1-02542 

1-02700 

1*02555 

Bottom. 

1 

•8 

21 

•  0 

1-02478 

1-02619 

1-02S17 

24 

38 ' 

"3 

39' 

19 

2175 

Surface. 

21 

•1 

23 

•  4 

1-02483 

1-02694 

1  -02481 

150 

15 

23 

•  2 

1-024S2 

1-02687 

1-02680 

250 

14 

•3 

23 

'  3 

1-02443 

1*02651 

1-02676 

500 

8 

•3 

23 

•25 

1-02404 

1-0260S 

1-02741 

n 

Bottom. 

1 

•7 

20 

•  6 

1-02487 

1-02617 

1-02815 

25 

38' 

23 

37' 

21 

2200 

Surface. 

21 

23 

1-02513 

1-0271S 

1-02511 

26 

38 

25 

35 

50 

1675 

21 

•8 

22 

•  1 

1-02540 

1*02714 

1*02547 

27 

38 

IS 

34 

48 

1675 

21 

•1 

22 

•  4 

1-02520 

1-02700 

1*02555 

Bottom. 

2 

•3 

20 

•  0 

1-02557 

1*02670 

1*02865 

2S 

38 ' 

34 

32' 

47 

1240 

Surface. 

21 

•7 

22 

•  6 

1*02536 

1-02724 

1*02560 

29 

37 

47 

31 

2 

21 

•1 

21 

•  8 

1-02539 

1-02701 

1*02556 

30 

38 

30 

31 

14 

1660 

Bottom. 

3 

•7 

19 

•  2 

1-02601 

1  -02693 

1*02882 

July  3 

38 

11 

27 

9 

900 

Surface. 

21 

•1 

21 

•  4 

1-02550 

1*02701 

1*02556 

150 

12 

•7 

18 

•  7 

1-02585 

1*02664 

1*02723 

Bottom. 

4 

•2 

18 

•  4 

1-02619 

1*02691 

1*02877 

4 

37 

52 

26 

26 

'750 

Surface. 

20 

•9 

21 

•  5 

1-02534 

1-02688 

1-02547 

Bottom. 

20 

•  8 

1-02543 

1*02679 

1*02877 

12 

35* 

"3 

2i 

25 

2660 

Surface. 

21 

•7 

22 

•  2 

1-02538 

1-02714 

1*02550 

600 

8 

•7 

IS 

•  4 

1*02598 

1-02669 

1*02797 

Bottom. 

1 

•s 

20 

•  5 

1-0247S 

1-02604 

1*02803 

13 

34 

11 

19 

52 

2675 

Surface. 

22 

•0 

22 

•  7 

1  -02525 

1*02715 

1*02543 

14 

33 

46 

19 

17 

2400 

21 

■5 

21 

•  8 

1*02555 

1-02717 

1-02560 

Bottom. 

1 

•8 

21 

•  2 

1*02552 

1-02699 

1-02897 

15 

13 

IS 

13 

1650 

Surface. 

21 

•1 

21 

•  7 

1-02585 

1 -02746 

1-02601 

Bottom. 

2 

•2 

20 

•  0 

1*02517 

1-02629 

1-02827 

chap.  ii.  ]        MADE  IE  A  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


61 


CHAPTER  II. 

MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 

Return  to  Madeira.— The  Black  GovaX.—  Ophiacantha  chelys.—  Ophiomusium  pulcM- 
lum.—  Ceratias  uranoscopus. — The  Island  of  San  Vicente. — Porto  Praya.— The 
Island  of  San  Iago. — A  Red-coral  Fishery.— The  Guinea  Current.— Balanoglossus. 
—Luminosity  of  the  Sea.—  Pyrocystis.— Young  Flounders.— Bathycrinus  Aldri- 
chianus.—Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.—St  Paul's  Rocks.— Fernando  Noronha.— Low 
Bottom  Temperatures  under  the  Equator.—  Ceratotrochus  diadema.—Pentacrinus 
Maclearanus. — Dredging  at  Moderate  Depths. — Arrival  at  Bahia. 

Appendix  A. — Table .  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Madeira  and  Bahia  during 
the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1873. 

Appendix  B.— Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  500  fathoms,  taken 
between  Madeira  and  Station  CII.  (lat.  3°  8'  N.,  long.  14°  49'  W.). 

Appendix  C— Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms,  taken 
between  Station  CII.  and  Bahia. 

Appendix  D. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Madeira  and  Bahia  dur- 
ing the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1873. 

When  we  reached  Madeira  we  found,  to  our  great  regret, 
that  shortly  before  our  arrival  there  had  been  a  rather  severe 
epidemic  of  small  -  pox  in  the  town ;  and  as  Captain  JNares 
thought  it  imprudent  to  give  general  leave,  our  stay  was  great- 
ly abridged.  One  or  two  of  the  officers  went  on  shore,  and  en- 
joyed a  short  ramble  over  the  lovely  island,  now  in  the  height 
of  its  summer  beauty ;  and  a  few  of  our  friends  visited  us  on 
board  while  we  were  taking  in  our  stock  of  fresh  provisions, 
and  made  our  cabins  gorgeous  with  offerings  of  flowers  and 
fruit. 

We  left  Funchal  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  July,  and 
proceeded  toward  San  Vicente  in  the  Cape  Verde  group.  We 
took  a  temperature  sounding  on  the  18th,  and  on  the  19th 
sounded  and  dredged  in  1125  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  vol- 


62 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


canic  sand,  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  the  island  of  Palraa.  The 
dredging  was  fairly  successful,  yielding  one  or  two  undescribed 
echinoderms.  On  the  evening  of  the  20th  we  were  approach- 
ing the  position  of  Station  III.,  where  we  had  brought  up  the 
coral  coated  with  manganese  on  the  18th  of  February,  and  we 
were  anxious  to  have  another  cast  as  nearly  as  possible  on  the 
same  spot,  in  the  hope  of  perhaps  getting  some  of  the  coral 
alive,  or  in  some  way  clearing  up  the  question  of  its  conditions. 


Fig.  I&.—Ophiacantha  chelys,  Wyvtlle  Thomson.   Dorsal  aspect  of  the  disk.    Four  times 
the  natural  size.    (No.  87.) 

On  the  following  day  we  were  a  little  too  far  to  the  westward, 
so  we  steamed  up  near  the  desired  point,  and  sounded  again 
upon  the  ridge  in  1675  fathoms,  and  put  over  the  dredge.  The 
event  showed  that  we  were  not  far  out  of  our  reckoning,  for 
the  dredge  brought  up  a  quantity  of  fragments  of  the  coral,  and 
several  other  animals  identical  with  those  procured  in  the  pre- 
vious haul.  None  of  the  coral  was  alive,  however,  and  the 
pieces  were  quite  similar  in  every  respect  to  those  which  we 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


63 


had  got  before,  so  that  no  further  light  was  thrown  upon  the 
curious  question  of  its  occurring  in  that  peculiar  semi-mineral- 
ized state  at  so  great  a  depth. 

I  give  here  a  preliminary  notice,  under  the  name  of  Ophia- 
cantha  chelys  (Figs.  16  and  17),  of  a  pretty  little  brittle  star 
which  was  found  clinging  to  several  of  the  branches  of  coral. 
It  is,  however,  so  different  in  aspect  from  such  typical  species 
of  the  genus  as  0.  spinulosa  and  0.  setosa  that  I  have  some 


Fig.  IT. — Ophiacantha  chelys,  Wyville  Thomson.   Oral  aspect  of  the  disk.    Four  times  the 

natural  size.    (No.  87.) 

hesitation  in  associating  it  with  them;  indeed,  I  should  scarcely 
have  done  so  had  it  not  been  that  the  described  form  which 
approaches  it  most  nearly  is  undoubtedly  Ophiacantha  stellata, 
Lyman.  I  think  it  very  likely  that  when  we  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  studying  the  mass  of  new  material  which  has  been  pour- 
ing in  for  the  last  three  or  four  years,  it  may  be  found  necessary 
to  reconsider  the  genera  of  the  Ophiuridea  as  at  present  defined, 
and  to  revise  their  limits.  The  diameter  of  the  disk  in  Ophia- 
cantha chelys  is,  in  an  ordinary  example,  8  mm. ;  the  width  of 
the  arm  near  the  base  2  mm.,  and  the  arm  is  about  three  and  a 
half  times  the  diameter  of  the  disk  in  length.  The  disk  is  in- 
cised in  the  centre  of  the  space  between  the  arms  so  deeply  as 


64 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  ii. 


to  give  it  the  effect  of  being  divided  nearly  to  the  centre  into 
five  broad  radial  lobes ;  these  lobes  are  a  good  deal  inflated,  and 
each  lobe  is  traversed  in  a  radial  direction  by  two  deep  grooves, 
so  that  a  deep  outer  rim  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  disk  is 
strongly  fluted.  The  space  in  the  centre  of  the  disk  correspond- 
ing with  the  middle  third  of  its  diameter  is  flat,  and  considera- 
bly depressed  beneath  the  level  of  the  outer  inflated  rim.  The 
whole  of  the  surface  of  the  disk  is  tessellated  with  a  certain  ap- 
proach to  regularity  with  strong  calcareous  plates,  those  toward 
the  periphery  larger  than  those  near  the  centre ;  and  the  plates 
bear  small  stump-like  spines,  each  with  a  crown  of  spinules  on 
the  free  end,  inserted  into  distinct  sockets  hollowed  out  in  the 
plates.  The  radial  shields  are  long  and  narrow,  and  lie  in  the 
bottom  of  the  grooves  in  the  radial  lobes ;  so  that  the  shields  of 
each  pair  are  separated  from  one  another  by  a  high  calcareous 
arch,  almost  a  tube,  formed  of  the  inflated  calcified  perisom. 
The  spines  are  specially  congregated  on  the  central  depressed 
portion  of  the  disk. 

The  mouth-papillae  are  nine  for  each  angle;  they  are  broad 
and  rather  blunt,  with  the  exception  of  the  odd  papillae  termi- 
nating the  strong  prominent  jaws  beneath  the  rows  of  teeth, 
which  are  larger  than  the  others  and  pointed.  There  are  no 
tooth-papillae;  the  teeth  are  about  five  in  a  row,  pointed  and 
compressed  vertically.  The  mouth-shields  are  large  and  wide, 
and  rudely  diamond-shaped ;  at  the  outer  angle  the  sides  of  the 
plate  are  turned  up  a  little,  so  as  to  form  a  short  spout-like  ex- 
tension toward  the  base  of  the  interbrachial  groove.  The  first 
lower  arm-plates  are  shield-shaped,  the  points  closing  the  distal 
ends  of  the  mouth-fissures  ;  and  those  beyond  are  wide  and  cres- 
centic,  extending  across  the  whole  width  of  the  arm.  The  ten- 
tacular scales  are  simple  and  leaf -like,  one  to  each  tentacle. 
The  side  arm-plates  are  very  large,  meeting  both  above  and  be- 
low ;  they  are  raised  distally  into  a  high  ridge  marked  with  the 
shallow  sockets  of  the  arm-spines.    The  height  of  this  ridge 


Plate  XIX. 


The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  Madeira  to  Station  102. 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


65 


and  the  contraction  of  the  proximal  sides  of  these  plates  give 
the  arms  a  peculiar  beaded  appearance.  The  arm -spines  are 
seven  in  number  on  each  side  of  two  or  three  of  the  proximal 
arm-joints,  and  usually  five  on  the  joints  toward  the  middle  of 
the  arm ;  thej  are  long  and  glassy,  and  elegantly  spinulated. 
In  color  the  perisom  passes  from  a  dark  rose  on  the  surface  of 
the  disk  and  along  the  upper  surface  of  the  arms,  through  paler 
shades,  to  a  nearly  pure  white  on  the  under  surface. 

This  haul  yielded,  along  with  Ophiacantha  chelys,  the  beau- 
tiful little  Ophiurid  represented  in  Figs.  18  and  19.  The  diam- 
eter of  the  disk  is  5  mm.,  and  the  arms,  which  are  rather  wide 


Fig.  18. — Ophiomnsium  pxdchellum,  Wyville  Thomson.   Dorsal  aspect  of  the  disk.  Seven 
times  the  natural  size.   (No.  87.) 

at  the  base  and  taper  rapidly,  are  only  about  once  and  a  half 
the  diameter  of  the  disk  in  length.  The  upper  surface  of  the 
disk  is  very  regularly  paved  with  thick,  well-defined  plates,  each 
of  which  rises  in  the  centre  into  a  pointed  tubercle  approaching 
a  spine  in  character.  One  almost  regularly  hexagonal  plate  oc- 
II.— 5 


66 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


cupies  the  centre,  encircled  by  a  row  of  six  plates  of  the  same 
form ;  and  beyond  these  there  is  an  outer  row,  consisting  of  the 
five  pairs  of  thick  radial  shields  and  five  oblong  plates,  occu- 

M 


ip 


Fig.  19.— Ophiomusiuni  pulchellum,  Wyville  Thomson.    Oral  aspect  of  the  disk.  Seven 
times  the  natural  size.   (No.  S7.) 


pying  the  interbrachial  spaces.  The  mouth-papillae  are  entire- 
ly coalesced  into  a  continuous  calcareous  border;  the  mouth- 
shields  are  diamond-shaped,  and  rather  small ;  the  side  mouth- 
shields,  on  the  contrary,  are  unusually  large.  The  first  four  or 
five  under  arm-plates  are  shield-shaped,  and  rather  large,  with 
well-marked  rounded  tentacle-scales ;  but  they  suddenly  become 
small  when  they  reach  the  narrow  part  of  the  arm,  and  the 
tentacle-scales  disappear.    The  side  arm-plates  on  the  proximal 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


67 


joints  of  the  arms  are  very  long — so  long  that  those  of  one  arm 
nearly  meet  those  of  the  two  adjacent  arms,  one  or  two  small 
irregular  plates  only  intervening;  and  the  lower  surface  of  the 
disk  is  thus  made  up  to  a  great  extent  of  the  expanded  bases 
of  the  arms.  The  side -plates  on  the  distal  arm -  joints  retain 
their  unusual  length,  but  they  are  directed  outward  toward  the 
end  of  the  arm,  and  the  inner  edges  of  the  plates  of  each  pair 
are  apposed  throughout  nearly  their  whole  length  both  above 
and  below.  The  upper  arm -plates  are  small,  and  diamond- 
shaped;  the  arm-spines  are  of  moderate  size — usually  three  on 
each  side  arm-plate.  I  relegate  this  pretty  little  thing  provis- 
ionally to  the  genus  Ojthiomusium,  subject  to  reconsideration. 

We  sounded  again  and  took  temperatures  on  the  22d,  and  on 
the  23d  we  sent  down  the  trawl  to  a  depth  of  2400  fathoms, 
with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze.  Along  with  a  number  of 
invertebrates,  this  haul  yielded  a  very  singular  little  fish  of  the 
Lophioid  family,  which  Mr.  Murray  has  named  Ceratias  urano- 
scopus  (Fig.  20).  The  specimen  is  90  mm.  in  length  from  the 
snout  to  the  end  of  the  tail ;  compressed  laterally  and  of  a  uni- 
form black  color.  The  anterior  spine  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  is 
produced  into  a  long  filament,  ending  in  a  pear-shaped  bulb, 
terminating  in  a  very  distinct  semi-transparent  whitish  spot. 


Fig.  20.— Ceratias  uranoscopus,  Mukray.   Natural  size.    (No.  S9.) 


This  spine  has  its  origin  on  the  posterior  portion  of  the  head, 
and  when  laid  back  it  reaches  nearly  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  The 
second  part  of  the  first  dorsal  is  placed  far  back  on  the  body, 


68 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


and  consists  of  two  short  fleshy  tubercles,  which  lie  in  a  depres- 
sion in  front  of  the  second  dorsal  An.  The  second  dorsal  has 
three  rays ;  the  anal  is  opposite  the  second  dorsal,  and  has  four 
rays ;  the  caudal  has  eight  rays,  the  four  central  rays  being  much 
larger  than  the  others,  and  bifid.  The  pectorals  are  small,  and 
have  ten  very  delicate  rays.  The  gill-opening  is  a  slit  situated 
below  the  pectoral  fin.  The  upper  jaw  is  formed  by  the  inter- 
maxillaries,  and  is  armed,  together  with  the  lower  jaw,  with  a 
series  of  teeth  of  moderate  size,  which  can  be  depressed  inward 
as  in  Lqphius.  The  skin  is  thickly  covered  with  minute  im- 
bedded conical  spines.  The  eyes  are  very  small,  and  are  placed 
high  up  on  the  middle  of  the  head.  The  presence  of  a  fish  of 
this  group  at  so  great  a  depth  is  of  special  interest.  From  its 
structure,  and  from  the  analogy  of  its  nearest  allies,  there  seems 
to  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  lives  on  the  bottom.  It  is  the 
habit  of  many  of  the  family  to  lie  hidden  in  the  mud,  with  the 
long  dorsal  filament  and  its  terminal  soft  expansion  exposed. 
It  has  been  imagined  that  the  expansion  is  used  as  a  bait  to  al- 
lure its  prey,  but  it  seems  more  likely  that  it  is  a  sense-organ, 
intended  to  give  notice  of  their  approach. 

On  the  two  following  days  we  went  on  our  course  toward 
San  Vicente,  sounding  and  taking  serial  temperatures  daily. 
The  weather  was  very  fine,  with  a  light  north-easterly  breeze. 
The  water,  which  had  previously  been  of  a  deep -blue  color, 
changed  on  the  23d  to  a  dull  green ;  on  the  25th  it  resumed  its 
beautiful  shade  of  cobalt.  On  the  26th  we  trawled  in  1975 
fathoms  with  small  results,  and  on  the  27th  we  anchored  off 
Porto  Grande. 

We  remained  a  week  at  San  Yicente.  The  island  is  most 
uninteresting ;  bare  ridges  of  reddish  volcanic  lavas  and  tuffs — 
some  of  them  certainly  with  a  rugged  and  picturesque  outline ; 
and  wide  valleys  and  valley  plains — wildernesses  of  fragments 
of  the  rock  which  look  and  almost  feel  as  if  they  were  at  a  low 
red-heat.    It  was  now  about  the  hottest  season,  and  everything 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


was  dried  up  and  parched ;  the  water-courses  were  dry,  and  all 
the  vegetation  had  disappeared  except  the  weird -looking  suc- 
culent weeds  of  the  desert,  which  with  their  uncouth  wrinkled 
forms  and  venomous  spines  looked  like  vegetable  demons  that 
could  defy  the  heat  and  live  anywhere.  Here  and  there  outside 
the  town,  where  the  carcass  of  a  dead  bullock  or  a  horse  had 
been  flung  out  on  the  shingle  or  only  half  buried  in  it,  polluting 
the  air  far  and  near,  there  were  half  a  dozen  of  the  Egyptian 
vulture  {Neophron  percnopterus)  perched  lazily  upon  the  bones, 
and,  when  disturbed,  flying  off  slowly  and  alighting  again  at  a 
distance  of  a  few  yards.  A  curious  incident  gave  us  a  ghastly 
interest  in  the  movements  of  these  foul  birds.  A  very  excel- 
lent seaman -school -master,  Mr.  Adam  Ebbels,  whom  we  had 
taken  with  us  from  England,  died  suddenly  just  before  we 
reached  Bermudas,  and  his  successor  was  to  have  joined  us  at 
Porto  Grande.  He  came  out  in  the  same  steamer  with  a  sub- 
lieutenant who  was  also  going  to  join  the  ship.  They  arrived 
ten  days  before  the  Challenger,  and  the  school-master  put  up  at 
the  French  hotel.  On  the  Sunday  before  our  arrival  he  went 
out  to  take  a  walk,  and  had  not  since  been  heard  of.  Of  course, 
besides  taking  all  the  necessary  official  steps,  we  were  all  on  the 
watch  for  traces  of  him,  and  we  were  told  that,  if  he  were  dead, 
the  vultures  would  be  our  surest  guides  to  the  place  where  the 
body  lay.  They  have  rather  an  unusual  mode  of  looking  at 
some  things  at  San  Vicente.  When  we  were  making  inquiries 
about  the  missing  school-master,  the  general  impression  seemed 
to  be  that  he  had  met  with  foul  play,  as  he  was  known  to  have 
had  a  small  sum  of  money  about  him  and  a  rather  valuable 
watch  when  he  left  the  hotel ;  and  we  were  told,  further,  that 
a  murderer  lived  in  a  cottage  at  a  little  distance  from  the  town. 
It  seems  that  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  this  man,  who 
had  been  originally  sent  to  San  Vicente  for  the  good  of  Portu- 
gal, had  made  away  with  several  people  during  his  stay  on  the 
island.    Although  his  profession  was  by  no  means  spoken  of 


70 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


with  approval,  it  was  talked  of  easily  and  freely,  and  he  did  not 
appear  to  be  entirely  beyond  the  pale  of  society.  I  had  a  curi- 
osity to  meet  a  murderer  without  having  the  responsibility  of 
any  fiscal  relations  with  him,  and  made  an  arrangement  to  call 
at  his  cottage ;  but  something  came  in  the  way  and  prevented 
the  visit. 

It  turned  out,  however,  that  the  poor  fellow  had  not  been 
murdered  or  robbed  at  all.  His  body  was  found  a  week  or  two 
after  we  left,  lying,  dried  up  with  the  scorching  heat,  on  a  ledge 
near  Wellington  Peak ;  he  had  wandered  too  far,  and  had  been 
overcome  by  heat  and  fatigue  and  unable  to  return — very  prob- 
ably he  had  had  a  sun-stroke.  His  purse  and  watch  were  in- 
tact ;  even  the  vultures  had  failed  to  discover  him  :  he  had  gone 
too  far  beyond  the  ring  round  the  town  where  they  chiefly  find 
their  food. 

Fresh  water  is  about  the  most  important  element  at  San  Vi- 
cente, for  although  heavy  rains  fall  now  and  then,  sometimes 
the  island  is  for  a  whole  year  without  a  shower.  The  water  is 
taken  from  deep  wells  sunk  through  the  tufaceous  rock ;  and  as 
the  supply  is  limited,  the  wells  are  carefully  inclosed  and  pro- 
tected, and  closed  except  at  certain  times.  A  large  well  just 
behind  the  town,  in  an  octagonal  building  covered  in  with  a 
low-pitched  roof,  is  the  great  centre  of  attraction ;  thither  from 
early  morning  one  can  see  files  of  stately  negresses  marching 
with  large  rather  elegantly  formed  earthen  vases  poised  upon 
their  heads ;  and  it  is  amusing  to  watch  the  congregation  of 
them  good-naturedly  helping  one  another  to  draw  the  water 
and  to  fill  their  pitchers  ;  and  chattering  and  laughing,  and  most 
generously  exhibiting  their  serviceable  rows  of  pearly  teeth.  I 
think  the  negroes  at  San  Vicente  are  certainly  better -looking 
than  those  in  the  West  Indies :  their  figures  are  slighter,  and 
they  have  altogether  a  lighter  effect.  JSTo  doubt  this  carrying  of 
water-jars  has  a  great  influence  in  producing  the  erect  gait  and 
ease  of  gesture  for  which  the  women  especially  are  remarkable. 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


71 


Some  of  the  wells  outside  the  town  are  almost  picturesque. 
The  well  building  is  usually  inclosed  within  a  whitewashed 
stone-wall,  and  as  there  is  a  little  moisture  and  shade  within  the 
xnclosure,  generally  two  or  three  trees  of  respectable  dimensions 
rise  over  the  wall.  There  is  usually  a  latticed  gate  of  entrance, 
with  an  ever-chaDging  group  of  lively,  good-natured  beings,  as 
black  as  Erebus,  clustering  round  it. 

We  left  Porto  Grande  on  the  5th  of  August,  and  proceeded 
on  our  course  toward  Porto  Pray  a,  the  principal  town  on  the 
large  island  of  San  Iago,  and  the  seat  of  the  Central  Government 
of  the  Cape  Yerde  group.  On  the  6th,  the  fine  peak  of  the 
active  volcano  on  the  island  of  Fogo  was  in  sight,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  7th  we  anchored  off  Porto  Praya.  Al- 
though the  anchorage  is  more  exposed,  and  not  nearly  so  suita- 
ble for  the  habitual  resort  of  shipping,  San  Iago  has  greatly  the 
advantage  of  San  Vicente  ashore.  The  town  of  Porto  Praya  is 
tidy  and  well-ordered  ;  the  Government  and  municipal  buildings 
are  commodious ;  and  the  central  Praca  is  really  ornamental,  with 
a  handsome  fountain  in  the  middle,  and  an  encircling  row  of  ir- 
rigated and  cared-for  trees.  At  one  end  of  the  town  there  is  a 
fine  public  well.  The  water  is  led,  in  closed  pipes,  from  a  stream 
coming  down  from  the  higher  land,  into  a  large  stone-built  reser- 
voir, from  which  there  is  a  daily  distribution  from  a  long  range 
of  ornamental  basins  and  spouts  to  a  constant  crowd  of  applicants. 

The  country,  although  on  the  whole  somewhat  arid  and  bare, 
is  much  less  so  than  San  Vicente.  There  is  a  large  grove  of 
cocoa-nut-trees  behind  the  town ;  some  of  the  streams  are  per- 
manent, and  the  valleys  are  consequently  much  greener,  and  in 
some  places  they  are  luxuriantly  fertile.  The  day  we  arrived 
we  rode  to  the  pretty  little  village  of  Trinidad ;  the  first  part 
of  our  way  was  very  desolate,  over  an  expanse  of  hot  gravel  re- 
lieved here  and  there  by  trailing  gourds  and  convolvuluses,  and 
a  scrub  of  castor -oil  plant  and  a  low -growing  almost  leafless 
Acacia,  with  long,  wicked,  white  spines.    We  passed  two  or 


72 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


three  fine  examples  of  the  celebrated  baobab-tree  (Adansonia 
gigantea) ;  the  trunk  of  the  largest  on  our  route  was  about  50 
feet  in  circumference,  but  in  some  trees  of  the  same  species 
on  the  neighboring  coast  of  Africa,  which  are  supposed  to  be 
among  the  oldest  trees  in  the  world,  they  attain  the  enormous 
dimensions  of  30  feet  in  diameter.  The  baobab-tree,  with  its 
spreading  low  crown  and  large  pendulous  greenish-purple  flow- 
ers, has  a  very  striking  and  unusual  appearance. 

After  riding  a  few  miles  we  came  suddenly  to  a  sort  of  basin 
at  the  head  of  the  valley,  with  a  slow  stream  passing  through  it 
and  a  broad  belt  of  the  most  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation  on 
either  side.  Groves  of  cocoa-nuts  extended  for  miles  along  the 
banks ;  and  the  land  was  cleared  and  fenced  for  the  cultivation 
of  yams,  sweet-potatoes,  maize,  pumpkins,  and  all  the  ordinary 
vegetable  productions  of  the  tropics.  Wherever  the  vegetation 
was  allowed  to  run  wild,  it  passed  into  a  tangled  thicket  of 
oranges,  limes,  acacias,  and  castor-oil  shrubs;  the  whole  so  warp- 
ed and  felted  with  climbing  gourds  and  beautifully  colored  Ijpo- 
meas  that  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  make  one's  way  through  it 
unless  by  the  cleared  tracks.  We  went  a  little  way  up  the 
flank  of  one  of  the  hills  to  the  village,  and  had  a  good  view  of 
the  valley,  which  contrasted  wonderfully  in  its  extreme  rich- 
ness and  careful  cultivation  with  the  arid  plains  below.  The 
swarthy  inhabitants  received  us  with  their  usual  good-natured 
hospitality,  and  after  a  welcome  luncheon,  of  which  bananas, 
oranges,  pine-apples,  and  cocoa-nut  milk  formed  the  principal 
part,  we  rode  back  to  the  ship,  highly  pleased  with  our  experi- 
ence of  this  unexpected  oasis. 

Next  morning  one  or  two  of  us  went  out  in  the  steam-pin- 
nace to  dredge  for  red  coral.  We  had  learned  that  there  was 
a  regular  coral  fishery  on  the  coast  of  San  Iago,  seven  or  eight 
boats  being  constantly  employed,  and  nearly  a  hundred  men  ; 
and  that  coral  to  the  amount  of  upward  of  100  quintals  (10,000 
kilos.)  was  exported  annually.    The  fishery  is  carried  on  at 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


73 


depths  between  60  and  100  fathoms,  a  mile  or  so  from  the 
shore.  Large,  clumsy  fishing- boats  are  used,  with  a  crew  of 
from  six  to  eight  or  nine  men.  A  frame  of  two  crossed  bars 
of  iron,  weighted  in  the  centre  with  a  large  stone,  and  hung 
with  abundant  tangles,  some  of  them  of  loose  hemp  and  others 
of  net,  is  let  down  with  a  thick  rope  (one  and  a  half  or  two 
inch),  and  eased  back  and  forward  on  the  ground  till  it  has 
fairly  caught ;  the  rope  is  then  led  to  a  rude  windlass  in  the 
middle  of  the  boat,  and  it  often  takes  the  whole  strength  of  the 
crew  to  bring  the  frame  up.  The  branches  of  coral  stick  in 
the  tangles  and  in  the  meshes  of  the  net.  It  was  a  fearfully 
hot  day — the  hottest,  I  think,  in  its  physiological  effect  on  the 
human  body,  which  I  have  ever  experienced.  There  was  not 
a  breath  of  air,  and  the  sea  was  as  smooth  as  glass ;  and  the 
vertical  sun  and  the  glare  from  the  water  were  overpowering. 
We  crouched,  half  sick,  under  our  awning,  muffled  up  to  pre- 
vent the  skin  being  peeled  off ;  and  even  a  few  successful  hauls 
in  the  afternoon,  which  yielded  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  fair 
branches  of  coral,  scarcely  restored  our  equanimity.  A  few  of 
our  first  hauls  wTere  unsuccessful,  so  we  steamed  up  close  to  one 
of  the  nearest  fishing-boats.  The  coral-fishers,  having  no  fear 
of  competition,  were  very  civil ;  indicating  by  signs  when  we 
were  on  the  right  spot.  They  were  active,  swarthy  Spaniards, 
and  had  stripped  themselves  for  their  work  to  a  pair  of  very 
scanty  drawers,  and  their  lithe  bronzed  figures  heaving  round 
the  windlass  were  most  picturesque ;  they  got  several  pieces  of 
coral  while  we  were  out.  According  to  our  experience,  the 
coral  grows  at  Porto  Praya  in  loosely  spreading  branches,  from 
two  to  perhaps  eight  inches  high,  attached  firmly  to  ledges  of 
rock  and  large  stones.  It  is  bad  dredging-ground ;  our  dredge 
got  jammed  more  than  once,  and  was  extricated  with  difficulty. 
The  Cape  Verde  coral  is  not  of  fine  quality ;  it  is  dark  and 
coarse  in  color,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  be  so  compact  in  text- 
ure as  the  Mediterranean  varietv. 


74 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


The  next  morning  a  large  party  started  on  horseback  in  the 
direction  of  San  Domingo.  We  rode  over  some  hot,  flat  conn- 
try  covered  with  a  brush  of  Acacia  and  Ricinus,  and  at  length 
reached  a  ravine  with  a  small  stream  running  in  the  bottom  of 
it,  the  banks  fairly  wooded,  the  wood  interrupted  every  here 
and  there  with  spaces  of  loose  stones  and  gravel.  As  we  rode 
along,  we  frequently  heard  the  harsh  cry  of  the  guinea-fowl, 
and  Captain  Maclear  and  I  detached  ourselves  from  the  riding 
party  and  spent  most  of  the  day  stalking  a  flock  of  them.  They 
were  very  wary,  running  very  quickly,  and  rising  and  taking  a 
short  flight  before  we  could  get  within  the  longest  range.  They 
crouched  and  ran  among  the  stones,  and  their  speckled  plumage 
so  closely  resembled  at  a  distance  the  lichen-speckled  rocks,  that 
more  than  once  when  we  had  seen  them  moving  about,  and  had 
crept  up  within  shot,  thinking  that  we  had  kept  our  game  con- 
stantly in  sight,  there  was  nothing  there  but  a  heap  of  gray 
stones.  In  the  afternoon  Captain  Maclear  managed  to  separate 
some  of  the  birds  from  the  flock,  and  marked  one  for  his  own ; 
he  stalked  it  warily  along  the  rugged  bank,  and  at  last  circum- 
vented it,  and  cautiously  brought  up  his  gun.  A  sharp  report, 
and  the  fowl  fell.  But  Maclear's  conscience  was  not  to  be  bur- 
dened with  the  death  of  that  beautiful,  and,  I  may  add,  delicious 
bird.  At  that  moment  a  laugh  of  triumph  rang  from  the  other 
side  of  a  low  ridge,  and  Captain  Nares,  who,  quite  unconscious 
of  our  presence,  had  been  stalking  another  flock  in  the  same 
direction,  ran  up  and  stuffed  it  into  his  game-bag.  Maclear 
had  driven  his  bird  right  up  to  the  muzzle  of  Nares's  gun !  I 
did  not  get  a  shot  at  a  guinea-fowl  either  all  day,  but  I  picked 
up  a  few  birds,  and  I  found  the  pretty  king -hunter  (Dacelo 
Jagoensis)  sitting  tamely  on  the  tops  of  the  castor-oil  bushes, 
where  Darwin  left  him  forty  years  before. 

On  the  9th  of  August  we  weighed  anchor,  and  proceeded  on 
our  course  toward  Fernando  Noronha.  The  northern  limit  of 
the  equatorial  current,  running  westward  at  the  rate  of  from 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


75 


twenty  to  seventy  miles  a  day,  is,  roughly,  the  fourth  degree  of 
north  latitude — a  little  to  the  southward  of  this  parallel  toward 
the  coast  of  Africa,  considerably  to  the  northward,  about  35° 
W.  longitude,  where  it  approaches  its  bifurcation  off  Cape  San 
Eoque. 

Occupying  a  band  approximately  between  the  parallels  of  4° 
and  8°  IS".,  there  is  a  tolerably  constant  current  to  the  eastward, 
the  equatorial  counter  -  current,  averaging,  in  the  summer  and 
autumn  months,  when  it  attains  its  maximum,  a  rate  of  twenty 
to  forty  miles  a  day.  The  causes  of  this  current  are  not  well 
known ;  it  occupies  a  portion  of  the  ever-varying  space  between 
the  north-east  and  the  south-east  trades,  and  it  seems  probable 
that  it  may  be  a  current  induced  in  an  opposite  direction,  in  the 
"  zone  of  calms,"  by  the  rapid  removal  of  surface-water  to  the 
westward  by  the  permanent  easterly  wind-belts.  Opposite  Cape 
Verde  this  easterly  current  takes  a  southward  direction ;  it  is 
joined  by  a  portion  of  the  southern  reflux  of  the  Gulf -stream ; 
and,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Guinea  Current,"  courses  along 
the  African  coast  as  far  south  as  the  Bights  of  Benin  and  Bi- 
afra,  where  it  disappears. 

The  Guinea  or  "  African "  Current  is  a  stream  of  warm 
water,  averaging  from  250  to  300  miles  in  width,  with  an  av- 
erage rate  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  a  day.  Its  greatest 
concentration  and  force  are  opposite  Cape  Palmas,  where  it  is 
jammed  in  by  the  northern  edge  of  the  equatorial  current ;  its 
width  is  there  reduced  to  a  little  over  a  hundred  miles,  and  it 
attains  a  maximum  speed  of  one  hundred  miles  a  day.  There 
seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  this  current  must  be  regarded  as  a 
continuation  of,  and  as  being  almost  entirely  derived  from,  the 
equatorial  counter-current.  It  is  evident  that  a  great  part  of 
the  surface-water  must  have  an  equatorial  origin,  for  when  we 
took  our  observations,  nearly  at  the  hottest  time  of  the  year, 
the  surface-temperature  was  equal  to  the  mean  maximum  tem- 
perature of  the  air,  and  one  degree  above  its  mean  minimum 


76 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  If. 


temperature ;  it  is  doubtless  joined,  and  considerably  aug- 
mented, by  a  cooler  current  passing-  down  the  coast  of  Africa, 
past  the  Canary  and  Cape  Verde  Islands,  a  portion  of  the 
southern  branch  of  the  Gulf-stream ;  and  this  tributary  stream, 
whose  direction  so  nearly  coincides  with  that  of  the  Guinea 
Current,  formerly  tended  to  prevent  the  full  recognition  of  the 
principal  source  of  the  latter  in  the  equatorial  counter-current, 

After  leaving  San  Iago,  on  the  9th  of  August,  we  began  al- 
most at  once  to  feel  the  influence  of  the  Guinea  Current,  or 
rather,  perhaps,  of  its  northern  tributary ;  and  from  that  date 
to  the  17th  our  course  lay  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  parallel 
with  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  nearly  in  the  path  of  the  current. 
The  temperature  of  the  sea-surface  during  this  time  wTas  nearly 
constant  at  26°  C.,and  the  temperature  of  the  air  slightly  lower. 
Serial  soundings  were  taken  at  several  stations,  and  these  gave 
a  singularly  rapid  fall  in  temperature  of  from  14°  to  15°  C.  for 
the  first  100  fathoms ;  showing  that  the  warm  current,  as  in  all 
other  cases  which  we  have  observed,  is  very  superficial.  Where 
the  rate  of  the  current  is  highest,  we  have  as  usual  the  iso- 
therms crowding  upward ;  the  cooler  water  rising  to  supply  the 
place  of  the  hot  surface-water,  which  is  being  rapidly  drifted 
and  evaporated  away. 

We  sounded  on  the  10th  in  2300  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of 
globigerina  ooze,  and  took  a  series  of  temperatures  at  intervals 
of  100  fathoms,  down  to  1500.  The  surface-temperature  was 
high,  and  from  the  surface  the  temperature  fell  with  unusual 
rapidity,  losing  nearly  15°  C.  in  the  first  hundred  fathoms. 

Surface   26°-lC.  15  fathoms  20°"5  C. 

5  fathoms   25  -4  20      "    18  "4 

10      "    24-4  100      "    11-3 

There  was  a  marked  tendency  at  this  station  to  the  gathering 
together  upward  of  all  the  higher  lines  (Plate  XIX.),  the  iso- 
therm of  6°  C.  occurring  at  a  depth  of  400  fathoms,  nearly  400 
fathoms  higher  than  the  position  of  the  same  line  at  Madeira. 


TEMPERATURE  BETWEEN  MADEIRA  AND  STATION  102. 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


77 


The  following  day  we  again  took  a  series  of  temperature  ob- 
servations, and  the  gathering  upward  of  the  warmer  lines  was 
still  more  marked  (Station  XCYI.) ;  and  on  the  13th  a  series 
of  observations,  at  intervals  of  100  fathoms  to  a  depth  of  1500, 
gave  a  like  result.  The  fall  of  temperature  for  the  first  hun- 
dred fathoms  was  much  the  same  as  on  the  10th. 


Surface   25°-5  C. 

25  fathoms   20  "6 

50      "    15-2 


75  fathoms   12°-7C 

100      "    11  -7 


On  the  14th  we  sounded  and  dredged  in  1750  fathoms,  hav- 
ing drawn  in  slightly  toward  the  coast  of  Africa  to  get  some 
idea  of  the  fauna  of  the  shallower  water.  The  dredging  was  not 
very  successful;  the  bottom  was  a  dark-brown  sandy  ooze,  with 
many  Globigerince  and  other  f oraminif era ;  but  beyond  some 
fragments  of  a  sponge,  a  broken  sea  -  egg,  and  one  or  two  bi- 
valve-shells, the  dredge  contained  no  examples  of  the  larger 
animal  forms. 

From  the  15th  to  the  18th  we  continued  our  course,  still  in 
the  Guinea  Current,  and  under  nearly  similar  conditions  of  tem- 
perature. On  Tuesday,  the  19th,  the  position  of  the  ship  at  noon 
was  lat.  5°  48'  K,  long.  14°  20'  W.,  about  200  miles  off  Cape 
Mesurado.  A  sounding  was  taken  in  the  morning,  in  2500 
fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  dark  sandy  mud.  The  trawl  was 
put  over,  and  brought  up  a  considerable  number  of  animal 
forms ;  among  them,  very  prominent  on  account  of  their  brill- 
iant scarlet  color,  nine  large  shrimps  representing  six  species 
: — one  referred  to  the  family  of  the  Peneidse,  while  the  remain- 
der were  normal  Carididse ;  several  tubicolous  annelids,  and  sev- 
eral examples  of  a  fine  dorsibranchiate  annelid  wTith  long  wdiite 
bristles,  which,  exceptionally  in  its  class,  were  very  distinctly 
jointed;  many  specimens  of  an  undescribed  polyzoon  with 
stalked  avicularia  and  large  vibracula ;  and  a  large  Holothurid 
belonging  to  the  gelatinous  group  which  we  had  frequently 
met  with  previously  in  deep  water,  and  remarkable  for  the 


78 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


position  of  the  mouth,  with  its  circle  of  branchiae,  which  was 
placed  on  the  lower  surface  of  the  body  near  the  anterior  ex- 
tremity of  the  ambulatory  area. 

The  trawl  contained  unfortunately  only  a  fragment  of  a  very 
large  species  of  Balanoglossus.  Although  evidently  a  worm, 
this  animal  presents  so  many  anomalies  in  structure,  that  Gre- 
genbaur  has  defined  a  distinct  order  in  its  class  for  its  accommo- 
dation, under  the  name  of  the  Enteropneusta.  The  first  known 
species,  B.  clavigerus,  was  originally  discovered  by  Delle  Chiage 
in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  and  after  his  first  description  it  remained 
long  unnoticed.  Kowalewski  subsequently  detected  another 
species  of  the  genus,  B.  minutus,  also  in  the  Bay  of  Naples : 
and  he  worked  out  an  excellent  paper  on  the  anatomy  of  the 
genus,  and  showed  that,  like  the  Tunicata,  Balanoglossus  pos- 
sessed a  rudimentary  branchial  skeleton. 

The  body,  which  is  worm-like,  is  in  three  marked  divisions ; 
a  stout  muscular  proboscis,  with  a  terminal  opening  for  the  en- 
trance and  efflux  of  water,  round  which  there  is  a  ring  of  rudi- 
mentary eye-spots ;  a  strong  muscular  collar,  somewhat  like  the 
collar  in  Sabella  or  Clymene,  between  which  and  the  proboscis 
the  mouth  is  placed ;  and  the  body,  which  is  divided  into  three 
regions — first,  the  branchial  region,  which  occupies  about  one- 
third  of  the  length  of  the  animal  and  in  which  the  esophagus  is 
bordered  by  ranges  of  complicated  gill-sacs,  opening  externally 
and  supported  by  a  delicate  skeleton ;  secondly,  a  region  which 
contains  a  simple  stomach  with  hepatic  cseca  and  the  reproduc- 
tive organs ;  and,  thirdly,  an  enormously  lengthened  transpar- 
ent gelatinous  caudal  region,  terminated  by  the  excretory  open- 
ing. In  our  specimen  only  the  proboscis,  the  collar,  and  the 
anterior  portion  of  the  branchial  region  were  preserved;  but 
the  proportions  of  these — the  proboscis  alone  11  mm.  in  length 
by  18  mm.  in  width — proclaimed  it  a  giant  among  its  fellows. 

From  its  structure  alone  Balanoglossus  claimed  a  special,  we 
might  almost  say  a  mysterious,  interest ;  for  its  unusual  bran- 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


79 


chial  system — associating  it,  an  annelid,  or  perhaps  more  strict- 
ly an  aberrant  and  highly  specialized  nemertid,  with  ascidians 
and  with  Anvphioxus — brought  it  into  the  fraternity  among 
which  the  first  hazy  indications  of  a  passage  between  the  inver- 
tebrates and  vertebrates  seemed  inclined  to  dawn.  The  singu- 
lar history  of  its  development  added  to  the  interest  which  had 
already  been  excited  by  the  peculiarities  of  its  structure.  In 
his  series  of  papers  on  the  development  and  metamorphoses  of 
the  larvae  and  young  of  Echinoderms,  Johannes  Muller  figured 
and  described  what  he  regarded  as  an  echinoderm  larva  under 
the  name  of  Tornaria.  A  couple  of  years  ago  Metschnikoff 
found  reason  to  believe  that  Tornaria  was  the  larva,  not  of  an 
echinoderm,  but  of  Balanoglossus  ;  and  within  the  last  year  Al- 
exander Agassiz  has  .  confirmed  Metschnikoff 's  view  by  tracing 
all  the  stages  of  its  development  from  Tornaria  to  the  fully 
formed  worm. 

From  the  time  we  entered  the  current,  immediately  after  leav- 
ing the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  the  sea  had  been  every  night  a  per- 
fect blaze  of  phosphorescence.  The  weather  was  very  fine,  with 
a  light  breeze  from  the  south-westward.  There  was  no  moon, 
and  although  the  night  was  perfectly  clear  and  the  stars  shone 
brightly,  the  lustre  of  the  heavens  was  fairly  eclipsed  by  that 
of  the  sea.  The  unbroken  part  of  the  surface  appeared  pitch- 
black,  but  wherever  there  was  the  least  ripple  the  whole  line 
broke  into  a  brilliant  crest  of  clear  white  light.  Near  the  ship 
the  black  interspaces  predominated,  but  as  the  distance  increased 
the  glittering  ridges  looked  closer,  until  toward  the  horizon,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  they  seemed  to  run  together  and  to 
melt  into  one  continuous  sea  of  light.  The  wake  of  the  ship 
was  an  avenue  of  intense  brightness.  It  was  easy  to  read  the 
smallest  print  sitting  at  the  after -port  in  my  cabin;  and  the 
bows  shed  on  either  side  rapidly  widening  wedges  of  radiance, 
so  vivid  as  to  throw  the  sails  and  rigging  into  distinct  lights  and 
shadows.    The  first  night  or  two  after  leaving  San  Iago  the 


80 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


phosphorescence  seemed  to  be  chiefly  due  to  a  large  Pyrosoma, 
of  which  we  took  many  specimens  with  the  tow-net,  and  which 
glowed  in  the  water  with  a  white  light  like  that  from  molten 
iron. 

Pyrosoma  is  a  free- swimming  colony  of  simple  ascidians 
having  the  form  of  a  lengthened  cylinder  100  mm.  to  120  cc. 
in  length,  with  a  cavity  within  from  20  to  80  or  100  mm.  in 
diameter,  open  at  one  end,  and  closed  and  coming  to  a  point  at 
the  other;  the  separate  individuals,  often  to  the  number  of 
many  thousands,  each  included  in  its  proper  transparent  test 
of  a  consistency  between  jelly  and  cartilage,  make  up  the  wall 
packed  vertically  side  by  side,  with  all  their  inhalent  openings 
turned  outward,  and  the  exhalent  openings  turned  inward  into 
the  cavity  of  the  cylinder.  A  perpetual  current  is  driven 
through  each  animal  by  the  action  of  the  cilia  bringing  in 
freshly  aerated  water  to  a  beautifully  fenestrated  gill -cavity, 
and  supplying  nourishment  to  a  simple  stomach  and  alimentary 
tract.  The  consequence  of  this  arrangement  is  that  the  water, 
constantly  flowing  inward  through  the  myriad  mouths  on  the 
outer  wall,  and  finding  egress  only  by  the  open  end  of  the  cyl- 
inder, the  colony  is  moved  steadily  through  the  water,  the 
closed  end  first.  Each  animal  is  provided  with  a  fairly  devel- 
oped nervous  system,  and  the  whole  can  act  in  concert  so  as  to 
direct  the  general  movements  of  the  colony. 

Besides  Pyrosoma,  there  were  large  numbers  of  copepod  crus- 
taceans, each  of  which,  on  being  shaken  in  the  curls  of  the  wave, 
emitted  a  spark  of  light  of  great  intensity,  and  the  breaking 
water  seemed  filled  with  these  glittering  points.  The  tow-net 
brought  up  during  the  day,  but  more  particularly  toward  even- 
ing, an  enormous  number  of  pelagic  animals,  most  of  them  more 
or  less  phosphorescent.  Among  them,  perhaps  predominating 
in  numbers,  were  decapod  crustaceans  in  the  "  zoea  "  and  "  me- 
galopa "  stages  of  development ;  a  great  Phyllosoma,  12  cc. 
from  tip  to  tip  of  the  limbs;  several  species  of  Leucifer ;  a 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


81 


beautiful  little  transparent  Cranchia — a  cuttle-fish  not  more 
than  a  centimetre  in  length ;  a  Phillirrhde,  scattered  over  with 
golden  spots ;  and  an  oceanic  Planarian. 

As  we  passed  southward  the  character  of  the  phosphorescence 
^changed  somewhat.  Pyrosoma  and  the  larger  phosphorescent 
creatures  became  less  abundant,  and  the  light  given  out  by  the 
water,  although,  on  the  whole,  even  more  vivid  than  before,  was 
more  diffused,  so  that  water  shaken  in  a  vase  gave  out  the  uni- 
form soft  light  of  a  ground-glass  globe  illuminated  from  within 
by  a  white  flame.  Even  when  examined  in  small  quantity  in 
a  tumbler  the  water  was  slightly  turbid,  and  when  the  light 
was  properly  adjusted,  it  was  seen  to  contain  a  multitude  of 
minute  transparent  bodies,  which  give  out  in  the  dark  a  clear 
white  light,  becoming  very  vivid,  almost  a  spark,  when  they  are 
shaken  or  irritated. 

The  largest  of  these  are  spherical,  nearly  a  millimetre  in  di- 
ameter. They  consist  of  a  delicate  external  pellicle,  so  thin 
that  it  can  scarcely  be  defined  under  the  microscope,  but  appar- 
ently siliceous,  for,  when  the  little  globe  is  pressed  with  extreme 
delicacy  between  the  finger  and  thumb,  the  wall  of  the  cell  is 
felt  to  break  like  an  infinitely  thin  wall  of  glass.  When  the 
sphere  is  shaken  from  the  towing-net,  it  usually  contains  only  a 
clear  transparent  liquid,  with  a  small  irregularly  outlined  mass 
of  yellowish-brown  sarcode  sticking  apparently  against  the  in- 
side of  the  cell-wall.  If  it  be  left  at  rest  for  a  time  in  sea- 
water,  the  sarcode  begins  to  send  out  prolongations  which  grad- 
ully  spread  in  a  net-work  of  anastomosing  streams  over  the  in- 
side of  the  wall,  and  in  these  streams  the  peculiar  and  extremely 
characteristic  flowing  movement  of  living  protoplasm  may  be 
observed,  each  stream  bearing  along  with  it  oil-globules  and  mi- 
nute granules,  as  in  the  well-known  "  cyclosis  "  within  the  cells 
of  the  moniliform  hairs  in  the  flower  of  Tradescantia.  Under 
a  high  power  the  protoplasm  is  seen  to  consist  of  a  clear  viscid 
liquid,  moving  along  with  a  defined  edge  separating  it  from  the 

II.— 6 


82 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


general  fluid  contents  of  the  cell,  and  burdened  with  yellow 
granules  and  compound  granular  masses  and  minute  oil-glob- 
ules and  refractive  particles ;  and  near  the  centre  there  is  always 
a  large,  well-defined  nucleus  of  a  somewhat  denser  material  and 

of  a  grayish  color,  which  dyes 
freely  with  carmine.  This 
little  organism,  to  which  Mr. 
Murray  has  given  the  name 
of  Pyrocystis  noctiluca  (Fig. 
21),  seems  hitherto  to  have 
escaped  notice,  or,  if  observed, 
it  has  probably  passed  for  the 
encysted  condition  of  Nocti- 
luca miliaris,  which  at  first 
sight  it  greatly  resembles.  It 

Ec&21._i^^^«^M^    From   certainly    hag    nothing  what- 
the  surface  in  the  Guinea  Current.   One  nun-  J  o 

dred  times  the  natural  size.  ever  to  do  with  the  true  JVbo- 

tiluca,  which,  according  to  our  observations,  appears  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  neighborhood  of  land. 

Another  species,  Pyrocystis  fusiformis  (Fig.  22),  which  seems 
not  to  be  quite  so  abundant,  although  it  is  almost  constantly 
associated  with  the  preceding,  is  very  regularly  spindle-shaped ; 
and  a  third,  which  may  possibly  present  generic  differences,  has 
the  form  of  a  truncated  cylinder.  In  this  last  we  have  observed 
the  process  of  endogenous  multiplication  by  the  division  of  the 
protoplasmic  nucleus  and  the  development  of  two  secondary 
cells  within  the  parent.  We  are  at  present  inclined,  though 
with  some  doubt,  to  relegate  these  forms  to  the  Diatomacese. 

We  took  with  the  towing-net  on  the  surface  in  the  Guinea 
Current  several  of  the  Plagusice,  the  young  flounders  described 
by  Professor  Steenstrup  in  a  remarkable  paper,  in  which  he 
contended,  though  somewhat  erroneously,  that  in  passing  from 
the  young  symmetrical  to  the  adult  distorted  condition,  one  of 
the  eyes  of  the  Pleuronectidse  passed  right  through  the  head 


Plate  XXI.  The  Track  of  the  SI 


from  Station  102  to  San  Salvador. 

2 

0°  1 

0° 

x  \ 

^ugz4  • 

 JX^g22^d\    gr  °* 

la/>                           \           TO  \ 
Tgr  -o#  \ 

\  l5D(f 

y"  

0° 

1 

78C  160V 

moo 

A  Ascension  I  . 

(%818'j 

• 

10° 

?& 

2 

0*  1 

0° 

chap.  II.]         MADEIRA  TO  TEE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


83 


from  one  side  to  the  other.  All  our  specimens  were  perfectly 
symmetrical,  and  as  they  ranged  from  one  to  three  centimetres 
in  length,  many  of  them  were  far 
beyond  the  stage  in  which  the 
wandering  of  the  eye  is  described 
by  Steenstrap,  and  seemed  rather 
to  favor  the  view  that  there  is  a 
group  of  pelagic  fishes,  which — 
while  presenting  all  the  general 
features  of  the  Pleuronectidse — 
never  undergo  that  peculiar  twist- 
ing which  brings  the  two  eyes  of 
the  flounder  or  turbot  to  the  same 
side  of  the  head,  and  is  evidently 
in  immediate  relation  with  the 
mode  of  life  of  these  animals, 
which  feed  and  swim  with  the 
body  closely  applied  to  the  sea- 
bottom. 

On  the  21st  of  August  we 
sounded  in  2450  fathoms,  with  a 
bottom  of  brownish  mud,  evident- 
ly colored  by  the  debris  from  some 
of  the  small  rivers  on  the  African 
coast,  not  more  than  400  miles  dis- 
tant. A  temperature  sounding  at 
every  100  fathoms  down  to  1500  showed  that  we  were  still  in 
the  Guinea  Current.  About  midday  we  fell  in  with  the  edge  of 
the  south-east  trades,  and  we  shaped  our  course  to  the  westward. 

The  depth  on  the  22d  was  2475  fathoms,  and  the  bottom 
temperature  l°-6  C.  The  position  of  this  station  was  738  miles 
to  the  eastward  of  St.  Paul's  Rocks. 

The  trawl  was  sent  down  on  the  23d  to  a  depth  of  2500  fath- 
oms, with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze ;  and  during  its  absence 


Fig.  22.  —  Pyrocistis  fusiformis,  Murray. 
From  the  surface  iu  the  Guinea  Current. 
One  hundred  times  the  natural  size. 


84 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


temperature  observations  were  taken  at  the  usual  intervals  to 
1500  fathoms,  and  at  every  ten  fathoms  for  the  first  sixty. 
The  trawl  was  fairly  successful,  several  specimens  in  each 
group,  representing  the  sponges,  the  Ophiuridea,  the  Holothu- 
ridea,  the  Annelida,  the  Bryozoa,  the  Cirripedia,  the  macrourous 
Crustacea,  the  lamellibranchiate  and  gasteropod  Mollusca,  and 
the  fishes  having  been  procured — a  somewhat  unusually  varied 
assemblage  from  so  great  a  depth. 

On  the  24th  we  had  passed  the  variable  boundary,  and  were 
in  the  region  of  the  regular  trades,  with  a  steady  surface-cur- 
rent to  the  north-westward  of  seventeen  miles  a  day,  and  we 
found,  on  taking  a  series  of  temperature  observations  down  to 
500  fathoms,  that  the  isotherms  were  again  rising.  The  depth 
was  2275  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze. 

On  the  25th  we  sounded  in  1850  fathoms,  in  lat.  1°  47'  N., 
long.  24°  26'  W. ;  the  bottom  was  again  globigerina  ooze,  and 
the  bottom  temperature  1°*8  C.  A  series  of  temperature 
soundings  were  taken  at  intervals  of  ten  fathoms  for  the  first 
100,  and  of  100  fathoms  down  to  1500.  The  trawl  was  put 
over,  and  gave  us  an  unusually  large  number  of  interesting 
forms ;  among  others,  many  large  specimens  of  a  fine  species 
of  Zimopsis,  several  brachiopods,  a  small  Umhellularia,  several 
remarkable  Bryozoa,  several  specimens  of  a  species  of  Archas- 
ter,  some  very  large  examples  of  a  Salenia  differing  apparently 
in  some  respects  from  S.  varispina,  an  entire  specimen  of  a 
beautiful  stalked  crinoid  which  I  shall  describe  under  the  name 
of  Bathycrinus  Aldrichianus*  and  with  it  some  fragments  of 

*  As  the  stalked  Oinoids  are  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  deep-sea 
groups,  both  on  account  of  their  extreme  rarity  and  of  the  special  interest  of  their 
paleontological  relations,  I  mean  to  associate  the  names  of  those  naval  officers  who 
have  been  chiefly  concerned  in  carrying  out  the  sounding,  dredging,  and  trawling  op- 
erations with  the  new  species  in  this  class,  whose  discovery  is  due  to  the  patience 
and  ability  with  which  they  have  performed  their  task.  Lieutenant  Pelham  Aldrich 
was  first  lieutenant  of  the  Challenger  during  the  first  two  years  of  her  commission ; 
he  is  now  with  Captain  Nares  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Alert.  Lieutenant  George 
R.  Bethell,  I  am  glad  to  say,  was  with  us  throughout  the  voyage. 


I 

Fig.  23.—Bathycrinus  Aldrichianus.  Wyville  Thomson.    Three  times  the  natural  size. 

(No.  106.) 


PLATE  XXII. -DIAGRAM  OF  THE  VERTICAL  DISTRIBUTION 


'EMPERATURE  BETWEEN  STATION  102  AND  PERNAMBUCO. 


chap.  II.]        MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


87 


the  stem  of  another  form,  for  which  I  propose  the  name  Hyo- 
crinus  Bethellianus,  of  which  we  afterward  got  one  or  two 
complete  specimens  and  several  fragmentary  portions,  again  as- 
sociated with  Bathycrinus,  at  Station  CXLVIL,  lat.  46°  16'  S., 
long.  48°  27/  E.,  about  87  miles  to  the  westward  of  Hog  Island, 
one  of  the  Crozet  group.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  I  will  give 
a  preliminary  sketch  of  these  two  new  crinoidal  forms  together. 

I  described  and  figured  in  "  The  Depths  of  the  Sea"  (p.  452), 
under  the  name  of  Bathycrinus  gracilis,  a  delicate  little  crinoid 
which  we  dredged  from  a  depth  of  2475  fathoms  to  the  south 
of  Cape  Clear.  I  believe,  from  the  structure  of  the  stem  and 
calyx,  and  from  the  somewhat  peculiar  sculpture  common  to 
both,  that  the  first  of  the  two  forms  which  I  have  now  to  de- 
scribe must  be  referred  to  the  same  genus. 

In  Bathycrinus  Aldrichianus  (Fig.  23),  the  stem  in  full- 
grown  specimens  is  200  to  250  mm.  in  length,  and  about  2  mm. 
in  diameter  across  the  enlarged  articulating  end  of  one  of  the 
joints.  The  largest  joints  of  the  stem  have  a  length  of  about 
4  mm.,  and  they  rapidly  shorten  toward  the  base  of  the  cup. 
They  are  dice-box-shaped,  and  have  the  ends  beveled  off  on 
different  sides  alternately,  for  the  accommodation  of  masses  of 
muscle.  Toward  the  base  of  the  stem  a  few  strong  jointed 
branches  come  off  and  form  a  sort  of  imperfect  root  of  attach- 
ment. The  cup  consists  of  a  series  of  basals,  which  are  sol- 
dered together  into  a  very  small  ring  scarcely  to  be  distin- 
guished from  an  upper  stem-joint.  Alternating  with  these  are 
five  large  triangular  first  radials ;  these  are  often  free,  but  in 
old  examples  they  also  are  frequently  anchylosed  into  a  funnel- 
shaped  piece.  The  second  radials  are  articulated  to  the  first  by 
a  true  joint  with  strong  bands  of  contractile  fibre ;  they  are 
broad  and  flat,  with  an  elevated  central  ridge,  which  is  contin- 
ued down  upon  the  first  radials,  though  in  these  it  is  not  so 
marked ;  and  lateral  wing -like  extensions,  which  curve  up  at 
the  edges  and  are  thus  slightly  hollowed  out.    In  the  third 


88 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  ii. 


radial,  or  "  radial  axillary,"  which  is  united  to  the  second  radial 
by  a  syzygy,  the  upper  border  of  the  plate  is  nearly  straight ; 
but  it  is  divided  into  two  facets  for  the  articulation  of  the  two 
first  brachials.  The  ridge  is  continued  from  the  second  radial 
to  about  the  middle  of  the  third,  where  it  divides,  and  its 
branches  pass  to  the  insertions  of  the  first  brachials,  to  be  con- 
tinued along  the  middle  line  of  the  arms.  The  wing -like 
lateral  processes  are  continued  along  the  sides  of  the  radial  axil- 
laries,  and  along  each  side  of,  at  all  events,  the  first  three  bra- 
chials. The  arms  are  ten  in  number ;  in  the  larger  specimens 
they  are  about  30  mm.  in  length,  and  consist  of  from  forty  to 
fifty  joints.  The  first  and  second  and  the  fourth  and  fifth  bra- 
chials are  united  by  syzygies,  and  after  that  syzygies  occur 
sparingly  and  at  irregular  intervals  along  the  arms.  There  are 
no  pinnules  on  the  proximal  joints  of  the  arms,  but  toward  the 
distal  end  there  are  usually  about  twenty,  in  two  alternating 
rows  ;  the  number  and  amount  of  development  of  the  pinnules 
seem  to  depend  greatly  on  age,  and  not  to  be  very  constant. 
The  arms  and  the  pinnules  are  deeply  grooved,  and  along  the 
edges  of  the  grooves  are  ranges  of  imbricated  reniform  plates, 
cribriform  and  very  delicate,  much  resembling  those  in  the 
same  position  in  Rhizocrinus.  The  disk  is  membranous,  with 
scattered  calcareous  granules.  The  mouth  is  subcentral ;  there 
are  no  regular  oral  plates,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  determina- 
tion of  the  calcareous  matter  to  five  points  round  the  mouth, 
where  it  forms  little  irregular  calcareous  bosses.  There  is  an 
oral  ring  of  long  fringed  tentacles,  and  the  tentacles  are  long 
and  well  marked  along  the  radial  canals.  The  excretory  open- 
ing is  on  a  small  interradial  papilla.  The  ovaries  are  borne 
upon  the  six  or  eight  proximal  pinnules  of  each  arm.  This 
form  appears  to  be  in  some  respects  intermediate  between  the 
pentacrinoid  stage  of  Antedon  and  Rhizocrinus.  I  shall  re- 
serve a  discussion  of  its  systematic  position  until  I  have  an 
opportunity  of  describing  it  more  in  detail. 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


89 


Hyocrinus  Bethellianus  (Fig.  24)  is 
a  totally  different  thing ;  and  yet  from 
certain  points  of  resemblance  one  is 
inclined  to  regard  it  in  the  mean  time 
as  an  aberrant  member  of  the  same 
group.  It  has  very  much  the  appear- 
ance, and  in  some  prominent  particu- 
lars it  seems  to  have  very  much  the 
structure,  of  the  paleozoic  genus  Pla-  . 
tycrinus,  or  its  subgenus  Dichocrinus. 

The  longest  portion  of  the  stem 
which  we  dredged  was  about  170  mm. 
in  length,  but  the  basal  part  was  want- 
ing, and  we  had  no  means  of  determin- 
ing what  were  its  means  of  attachment. 
The  stem  is  much  more  rigid  than  that 
of  Bathycrinus,  and  is  made  up  of  cy- 
lindrical joints  which  are  united  to  one 
another  by  a  close  syzygial  suture,  the 
applied  surfaces  being  marked  with  a 
radiating  pattern  of  grooves  and  ridges 
like  those  of  so  many  of  the  fossil  gen- 
era, and  like  those  of  the  recent  Pen- 
tacrinus.  The  joints  become  short 
and  very  numerous  toward  the  base 
of  the  cup. 

The  head,  including  the  cup  and  the 
arms,  is  about  60  mm.  in  length.  The 
cup  consists  of  two  tiers  of  plates  only. 
The  lower  of  these,  which  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  ring  of  basals,  is  formed, 
as  in  some  of  the  Platycrinidse,  of  two 
or  three  pieces ;  it  is  difficult  to  make 
out  which  with  certainty,  for  the  pieces  are  more  or  less  united, 


90 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


and  the  junctions  in  the  mature  animal  are  somewhat  obscure. 

The  second  tier  consists  of  five  radials,  which 
are  thin,  broad,  and  spade  -  shaped,  with  a 
slight  blunt  ridge  running  up  the  centre  and 
ending  in  a  narrow  articulating  sufrace  for  an 
almost  cylindrical  first  brachial.  The  arms 
are  five  in  number ;  they  consist  of  long  cy- 
lindrical joints  deeply  grooved  and  inter- 
sected by  syzygial  junctions.  The  first  three 
joints  in  each  arm  consist  each  of  two  parts 
separated  by  a  syzygy ;  the  third  joint  bears 
at  its  distal  end  an  articulating  surface,  from 
which  a  pinnule  springs.  The  fourth  arm- 
joint  is  intersected  by  two  syzygies,  and  thus 
consists  of  three  parts,  and  so  do  all  the  suc- 
ceeding joints;  and  each  joint  gives  off  a 
pinnule  from  its  distal  end,  the  pinnules 
arising  from  either  side  of  the  arm  alter- 
nately. 

The  proximal  pinnules  are  very  long,  run- 
ning on  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  arm,  and 
the  succeeding  pinnules  are  gradually  shorter, 
all  of  them,  however,  running  out  nearly  to 
the  end  of  the  arm,  so  that  distally  the  ends 
of  the  five  arms  and  of  all  the  pinnules  meet 
nearly  on  a  level.  This  is  an  arrangement 
hitherto  entirely  unknown  in  recent  crinoids, 
although  we  have  something  very  close  to  it 
in  some  species  of  the  paleozoic  genera  Po- 
Fig.  25.— Hyocrinus  Be-  teriocrinus  and  Cyathocrinus.     Here  I  be- 

thellianus.  About  four   ,.         ,  .,  ,  ,  ,     .  TT 

times  the  natural  size,  heve,  however,  the  resemblance  between  Hy- 
(station  cxlvii.)       ocrinus  and  the  early  fossil  forms  ends.  The 
outer  part  of  the  disk  is  paved  with  plates  irregular  in  form  and 
closely  set.    Round  the  mouth  there  are  five  very  strong  and 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


91 


definitely  shaped  valves,  slightly  cupped  above,  and  marked 
beneath  with  impressions  for  the  insertion  of  muscles.  The 
anal  opening  is  on  a  short  plated  interradial  tube.  The  mouth 
opens  into  a  short  slightly  constricted  esophagus,  which  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  dilatation  surrounded  by  brown  glandular  ridges ; 
the  intestine  is  very  short,  and  contracts  rapidly  to  a  small 
diameter.  Bound  the  esophagus  a  somewhat  ill-defined  vascu- 
lar ring,  which  may  possibly  be  continuous  with  the  body-cav- 
ity, gives  off  opposite  each  of  the  oral  plates  a  group  of  four 
tubular  tentacles.  The  ovaries  are  very  long,  extending  nearly 
the  whole  length  of  the  first  two  or  three  pairs  of  pinnules  on 


Fig.  26.— Disk  of  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.   Eight  times  the  natural  size. 

each  arm.  The  assemblage  of  characters  connected  with  the 
disk  and  soft  parts  shows  a  considerable  resemblance  between 
Hyocrinus  and  Rhizocrinus.  My  strong  impression  is  that 
the  mode  of  nutrition  of  the  Cyathocrinidse,  and  consequently 
the  structure  and  arrangement  of  their  disk,  was  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  all  the  yet  known  living  forms;  and  I  think 
it  is  probable  that  when  we  have  an  opportunity  of  studying 
the  structure  of  Hyocrinus  minutely,  we  shall  find  that  its  very 


92 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  n. 


striking  resemblance  to  Platycrinus  is  to  a  great  degree  super- 
ficial. 

There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  Rhizocrinus  finds  its 
nearest  known  ally  in  the  chalk  JBourguetticrinus,  and  that  it 
must  be  referred  to  the  Apiocrinidse.   Were  it  not  that  there  is 


Fig.  2T — The  Arrangement  of  the  Soft  Parts  in  Hyocrinus  Bethellianus.  a,  oral  valves ;  b, 
oral  vascular  ring;  c,  oral  tentacles;  d,  e,  inner  aspect  of  the  esophagus  and  stomach ;  /, 
intestine ;  g,  loose  aieolated  connective  tissue.   Eight  times  the  natural  size. 

an  evident  relation  between  the  two  new  genera  and  Rhizocri- 
nus, in  Poteriocrinus  and  Hyocrinus  the  characters  of  the  Api- 
ocrinidse  are  so  obscure  that  one  would  certainly  not  have  been 
inclined  to  associate  them  with  that  group.  They  are  both 
comparatively  small  forms,  and  although  they  do  not  show  the 
peculiar  tendency  to  irregularity  in  the  number  of  their  princi- 
pal parts  which  we  find  in  Rhizocrinus,  they  have  still  small 
calyces  and  large  stems — a  comparatively  excessive  develop- 
ment of  the  vegetative  parts. 

On  the  27th  of  August  we  sounded  in  the  morning  in  1900 
fathoms,  the  bottom  of  little  else  than  the  shells  of  Globigerina. 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL.  93 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  lookout  reported  St. 
Paul's  Rocks  visible  from  the  mast-head,  and  shortly  afterward 
they  were  seen  from  the  bridge,  a  delicate  serrated  outline  on 
the  western  horizon. 

These  solitary  rocks  are  nearly  under  the  equator,  and  mid- 
way between  the  coasts  of  Africa  and  of  South  America. 
They  were  visited  by  Captain  Fitzroy,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Darwin,  in  the  Beagle,  in  1832,  and  a  good  account  of  their  nat- 
ural history  is  given  by  Mr.  Darwin  in  his  "  Voyage  of  a  Natu- 
ralist." They  were  again  touched  at  by  Sir  James  Ross  in  the 
Erebus,  in  1839.  Merchant  vessels  usually  give  them  a  wide 
berth ;  but  our  party  found  a  bottle  with  a  paper  stating  that  on 
the  19th  of  July,  1872,  Captain  Pack  had  landed  from  the  ship 
Ann  MilMcent,  of  Liverpool,  bound  from  London  to  Colombo. 
We  were  greatly  struck  with  their  small  size,  for  although  we 
knew  their  dimensions  perfectly  well — rather  under  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  end  to  end  of  the  group — we  had  scarcely  real- 
ized so  mere  a  speck  out  in  mid-ocean,  so  far  from  all  other 
land.  We  came  in  to  the  west  of  the  rocks  under  their  lee. 
To  our  right  there  were  three  small  detached  rocks,  dark  and 
low;  then  a  rock  about  sixty  feet  high,  almost  pure  white, 
from  being  covered  with  a  varnish  of  a  mixture  of  phosphatic 
matter  produced  by  the  sea-birds  and  sea-salt ;  next  a  bay  or 
cove  with  a  background  of  lower  rock.  To  the  left  some  peaks 
fifty  to  sixty  feet  high,  white  and  variously  mottled,  and  to  the 
extreme  left  detached  rocks;  the  whole  ridge  excessively  rug- 
ged, with  channels  and  clefts  here  and  there  through  which  the 
surf  dashes  from  the  weather  side. 

A  boat  was  sent  off  under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Bethell, 
with  a  quantity  of  whale-line ;  and  a  loop  of  eight  or  ten  ply 
was  passed  round  one  of  the  rocks.  To  this  a  hawser  was  run 
from  the  ship,  lying  about  seventy  yards  out  with  her  bows  in 
104  fathoms  water.  The  hawser  was  made  fast  to  the  whale- 
line,  and  the  ship  thus  moored  to  the  rock.    There  was  a  strong 


94 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


current  running  past  the  rocks  and  a  steady  breeze  blowing, 
both  off  the  rocks  so  far  as  the  ship  was  concerned,  so  that  she 
was  safe  in  any  case.    All  was  made  fast  about  six  o'clock,  and 


Captain  Nares  and  a  small  party  of  us  went  ashore  in  the  jolly- 
boat.  Landing  on  these  rocks  is  no  very  easy  matter.  Right 
in  the  path  of  the  trade -wind  and  of  the  equatorial  current 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


95 


there  is  always  a  heavy  surf,  which  had  a  rise  and  fall  when 
we  were  there  against  the  precipitous  wall  of  rock  of  from  five 
to  seven  feet.  The  rock  is  in  rough  ledges,  and  landing  has  to 
be  accomplished  by  a  spring  and  a  scramble  when  the  boat  is 
on  the  top  of  a  wave.  When  we  landed  the  sun  was  just  set- 
ting behind  the  ship.  There  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and 
the  sun  went  down  into  the  sea  a  perfect  disk,  throwing  won- 
derful tints  of  rose-color  upon  the  fantastic  rocks.  As  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Darwin,  there  are  only  two  species  of  birds  on 
the  rocks,  the  "  booby"  {Sula  fusca)  and  the  "noddy"  (Sterna 
stolida),  both  having  a  wide  distribution  on  tropical  islands  and 
shores.  On  St.  Paul's  Bocks  they  are  in  enormous  numbers, 
and  can  be  seen  flying  round  the  peaks  and  sitting  on  the 
ledges  from  a  great  distance.  We  landed  the  first  evening  on 
the  smaller  rock  which  forms  the  northern  portion  of  the  ridge, 
and  which  is  a  breeding-place  of  the  tern  (Fig.  28).  The  birds 
were  quite  tame,  allowing  themselves  to  be  knocked  over  with 
a  stick,  or  even  taken  with  the  hand.  They  build  simple  nests 
on  rocky  ledges,  of  a  conferva  which  grows  abundantly  at  the 
water-edge  mixed  with  feathers  and  matted  together  probably 
with  some  cement  matter  ejected  from  the  bird's  stomach. 
The  nests  seem  to  be  used  more  than  once,  perhaps  with  a  lit- 
tle repair  from  time  to  time ;  for  many  of  them  were  large, 
consisting  apparently  of  several  layers  of  different  dates,  and 
were  decomposed  at  the  base  into  a  yellowish  earth.  A  single 
egg  was  found  in  some  of  the  nests,  and  in  others  a  young  bird, 
but  the  breeding-season  wras  evidently  nearly  over.  The  young 
bird  is  covered  with  fine  black  down,  and  looks  like  a  little  ball 
of  black  wool. 

The  captain's  party  laid  a  line  across  the  mouth  of  the  cove 
to  make  landing  easier  for  their  successors,  and  in  the  evening 
a  boat  went  off  with  officers  and  men  to  fish.  The  fish  were 
in  great  numbers,  particularly  a  species  of  the  genus  Oaranx, 
called,  apparently  in  common  with  man}?-  other  edible  fishes  in 


96  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  ii. 

Spanish  or  Portuguese  waters,  "  cavalao."  The  texture  of  the 
fish  is  rather  coarse,  but  the  flavor  is  good;  it  is  allied  to  the 
tunny  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Next  day  the  rocks  were  alive  with  surveyors  and  observers 
of  all  kinds,  and  blue-jackets  fishing  and  scrambling,  and  other- 
wise stretching  their  legs  and  enjoying  a  firm  foundation  under 
their  feet.  The  attention  of  the  naturalists  was  chiefly  directed 
to  the  southern  rock,  which  is  considerably  the  larger.  Both 
the  tern  and  the  booby  breed  here.  The  booby  lays  a  single 
egg  on  the  bare  rock.  There  were  a  number  of  eggs  and  young 
birds  seen ;  but,  as  with  the  tern,  the  principal  breeding-season 
was  past.  In  the  morning  both  the  booby  and  the  noddy  were 
quite  tame,  but  toward  afternoon  even  these  few  hours'  contact 
with  humanity  had  rendered  them  more  wary,  and  it  was  now 
no  longer  possible  to  knock  them  down  with  sticks  or  stones. 
We  had  even  some  little  difficulty  in  getting  a  specimen  or  two 
of  the  Sula  for  preservation,  as  we  had  unwisely  left  this  to 
the  last. 

While  some  of  the  party  were  exploring  the  rock,  we  tried 
once  more  a  plan  of  dredging  which  we  had  adopted  with  some 
success  anchored  on  a  bank  at  Bermudas.  We  sent  a  boat  off 
with  the  dredge  to  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  so  from 
the  ship — the  boat  taking  the  dredge-line  from  the  coil  in  the 
ship — let  down  the  dredge  there,  and  wound  the  dredge-rope 
slowly  on  board  with  the  donkey-engine,  thus  dragging  the 
dredge  for  a  certain  distance  over  the  bottom.  Life  did  not 
seem  very  abundant,  but  a  handsome  Cidaris,  a  species  of  An- 
tedon,  some  crustaceans  of  ordinary  shallow  -  water  types,  and 
some  fine  Gorgonim  were  brought  up.  On  going  over  the  col- 
lections from  the  rock,  we  found  them  to  consist  of  a  minute 
moth,  two  very  small  dipterous  insects,  a  tick  parasitical  on  the 
birds,  a  species  of  Chelifer,  and  three  spiders.  All  these  species 
had  been  observed  previously  by  Mr.  Darwin,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Chelifer,  and,  in  addition,  a  wood-louse  and  a  beetle. 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADE  IB  A  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


97 


neither  of  which,  we  detected.  All  the  insects  and  Arachnida 
were  found  in  the  old  nests  of  the  tern,  many  of  which  were 
brought  on  board  and  carefully  examined. 

There  is  not  a  trace  of  a  land-plant  on  this  island — not  even 
a  lichen.  In  the  line  within  the  wash  of  the  surf  there  is  a 
bright -pink  band  of  an  incrusting  nullipore,  which  here  and 
there  becomes  white,  and  greatly  resembles  a  coral ;  and  the 
same  belt  produces  the  conferva  of  which  the  terns'  nests  are 
built,  and  one  or  two  red  algge.  All  the  crannies  in  the  rock 
are  inhabited  by  Grwpsus  strigosus,  an  amphibious  crab,  which 
we  had  already  met  with  on  several  of  the  Atlantic  islands.  Its 
habits  amused  us  greatly.  It  was  much  more  wary  than  the 
birds.  It  was  by  no  means  easy  to  catch  them,  but  they  kept 
close  round  the  luncheon  baskets  in  large  parties,  raised  up  on 
the  tips  of  their  toes,  and  with  their  eyes  cocked  up  in  an  atti- 
tude of  the  keenest  observation ;  and  whenever  a  morsel  came 
within  their  reach  there  was  instantly  a  struggle  for  it  among 
the  foremost  of  them,  and  they  ambled  away  with  their  prize 
wonderfully  quickly,  with  their  singular  sidelong  gait,  and  a 
look  of  human  smartness  about  them  which  has  a  kind  of  weird- 
ness  from  its  being  exhibited  through  a  set  of  organs  totally 
different  in  aspect  from  those  to  which  we  usually  look  for 
manifestations  of  intelligence. 

The  lobster -pots  were  down  during  the  night,  but  they 
yielded  little  except  a  small  species  of  Palinurus. 

The  structure  of  the  rocks  is  peculiar,  and  they  must  be  care- 
fully analyzed  before  any  definite  opinion  can  be  arrived  at 
with  regard  to  them.  They  are  certainly,  as  Mr.  Darwin  has 
already  pointed  out,  not  of  modern  volcanic  origin,  like  almost 
all  the  other  ocean  islands.  They  look  more  like  the  serpenti- 
nous  rocks  of  Cornwall  or  Ayrshire,  but  from  these  even  they 
differ  greatly  in  character.  Mr.  Buchanan  examined  their  min- 
eral character  carefully,  and  subjected  the  most  marked  varie- 
ties to  a  rough  chemical  analysis.   I  quote  from  his  notes.  The 


98  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  n. 

white  enamel -like  incrustation  described  by  Mr.  Darwin  wTas 
observed  on  the  southern  rock  only,  the  haunt  of  the  booby. 
The  northern  rock  is  chiefly  composed  of  what  appears  to  be 


Darwin's  yellowish  harsh  stone,  split  up  into  numerous  frag- 
ments which  somewhat  resemble  large  weathered  crystals  of 
orthoclase.    All  these  rocks  give  off  alkaline  water  when  heated 


CHAP.  II.] 


MADE  IE  A  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


99 


in  closed  tubes,  and  consist  chiefly  of  hydrated  oxide  of  magne- 
sia, with  alumina  and  peroxide  of  iron  in  subordinate  quantity. 
Of  the  more  recent  veins  mentioned  by  Darwin,  some  are  bor- 
dered on  both  sides  by  black  bands  of  a  hard  infusible  substance. 
The  powder  has  a  dirty  grayish-green  color,  and  effervesces  with 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  leaving  a  brown  insoluble  residue.  In 
strong  hydrochloric  acid  it  dissolves  with  evolution  of  chlorine, 
and  the  color  phenomena  of  dissolving  peroxide  of  manganese. 
It  was  found  to  consist  of  phosphate  of  lime,  peroxide  of  man- 
ganese, a  little  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia,  and  traces  of 
copper  and  iron  ;  like  the  other  rocks,  it  gives  off  alkaline  wrater 
in  a  closed  tube.  Mr.  Buchanan  is  inclined  to  regard  all  the 
rocks  as  referable  to  the  serpentine  group.  So  peculiar,  how- 
ever, is  the  appearance  which  it  presents,  and  so  completely  and 
uniformly  does  the  phosphatic  crust  pass  into  the  substance  of 
the  stone,  that  I  felt  it  difficult  to  dismiss  the  idea  that  the 
wdiole  of  the  crust  of  rock  now  above  water  might  be  nothing 
more  than  the  result  of  the  accumulation,  through  untold  ages, 
of  the  insoluble  matter  of  the  ejecta  of  sea-fowl,  altered  by  ex- 
posure to  the  air  and  sun,  and  to  the  action  of  salt  and  fresh 
water,  but  comparable  with  the  "  stalactitic  or  botroydal  masses 
of  impure  phosphate  of  lime  "  observed  by  Mr.  Darwin  at  As- 
cension. "  The  basal  part  of  these  had  an  earthy  texture,  but 
the  extremities  were  smooth  and  glossy,  and  sufficiently  hard 
to  scratch  common  glass.  These  stalactites  appeared  to  have 
shrunk,  perhaps  from  the  removal  of  some  soluble  matter  in 
the  act  of  consolidation,  and  hence  they  had  an  irregular  form." 
The  composition  of  the  minerals  at  St.  Paul's  Rocks  did  not 
seem,  however,  to  be  consistent  with  this  mode  of  production. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  we  landed  a  party  of  explorers 
and  fishermen,  and  then  cast  off  the  hawser  and  wTent  round  the 
rocks  taking  soundings  and  swinging  for  the  errors  of  the  com- 
passes ;  and  in  the  evening,  after  picking  up  our  stragglers,  we 
proceeded  under  all  plain  sail  toward  Fernando  Eoronha. 


100 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


On  the  30th  we  sounded  in  2275  fathoms  with  a  bottom  tem- 
perature of  +0o,9  C,  at  a  distance  of  265  miles  to  the  east  of 
Fernando  Noronha ;  and  on  the  31st,  at  a  distance  of  132  miles 
from  the  island,  in  2475  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  temperature  of 
+  0o,2  C.  These  were  considerably  the  lowest  temperatures 
which  we  had  met  with  since  the  commencement  of  the  voy- 
age, and  at  first  sight  it  seemed  singular  finding  them  almost 
directly  on  the  equator.  During  our  outward  voyage  circum- 
stances prevented  our  tracing  the  source  of  this  unusually  cold 
water,  and  it  was  only  on  our  return  that  we  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  determining  that  a  deep  indraught  of  cold  water,  pass- 
ing up  a  channel  roughly  parallel  with  the  coast-line  of  South 
America,  is  open  without  any  intervening  barrier  from  the 
Southern  Sea  to  the  equator. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  September  the  island 
of  Fernando  Noronha  was  in  sight,  and  all  forenoon  we  ap- 
proached it  under  steam,  sounding  at  8  a.m.  in  lat.  3°  33'  S., 
long.  32°  167  W.,  in  2200  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  globigerina 
ooze,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  +0°*5  C,  the  island  distant 
21  miles.  We  took  a  series  of  temperature  soundings  at  every 
ten  fathoms,  down  to  sixty  fathoms — 

Surface   25°-6  C.  50  fathoms   170,3  C. 

10  fathoms   23-9  60      "    15  -0 

20       "    25-6  15       "    13-6 

30       "    25'3  100       "    12-4 

40       "    22-9 

and  at  every  hundred  fathoms  to  1500.  At  midday  we  sounded 
again  about  six  miles  from  the  island,  with  a  depth  of  1010 
fathoms  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  2°'8  C,  so  that  Fernando 
Noronha,  like  most  of  the  ocean  islands,  rises  abruptly  from 
deep  water. 

It  was  a  fresh,  bright  day,  with  a  pleasant  breeze  from  the 
south-east.  At  three  o'clock  we  cast  anchor  in  San  Antonio 
Bay,  just  opposite  the  settlement  and  citadel.    From  this  point 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


101 


the  island  has  a  very  remarkable  appearance.  The  land  is  gen- 
erally not  very  Jiigh,  an  irregular  cliff  rising  from  the  sea  to  a 
height  of  about  a  hundred  feet,  succeeded  by  undulating  land 
and  conical  hills,  usually  covered  with  luxuriant  vegetation.  A 
little  to  our  right  there  was  a  very  singular-looking  mountain, 
the  Peak.  A  broad,  craggy  base  rises  abruptly  from  the  sea, 
all  the  clefts  among  the  rocks  covered  and  filled  with  low  vege- 
tation, and  every  here  and  there  lines  and  patches  of  bananas. 
From  a  height  of  about  400  feet  a  column  of  rock  starts  up  for 
600  feet  more,  the  last  200  feet  certainly  inaccessible.  On  one 
side  there  is  a  great  cleft  undercutting  a  projecting  portion  of 
the  rock,  and  adding  to  the  grotesqueness  of  its  outline.  The 
citadel,  a  small  fort,  the  station  of  the  guard  of  Brazilian  sol- 
diers, is  on  the  top  of  a  projecting  square  cliff,  right  before  the 
anchorage.  The  village  occupies  a  slight  depression  between 
the  citadel  and  the  Peak,  and  follows  the  depression  a  good  way 
landward.  There  is  a  little  bit  of  sandy  beach  to  the  right  of 
the  citadel,  just  below  the  village,  which  is  the  usual  landing- 
place;  and  to  the  left  of  the  citadel  (from  the  ship)  there  is  a 
rather  long  stretch  of  sand,  with  another  landing,  in  ordinary 
weather  better  than  that  near  the  town.  To  the  extreme  left 
there  is  a  chain  of  small  islands,  one  of  them  with  a  fine,  bold 
outline  called  St.  Michael's  Eock,  and  another  much  larger,  flat 
and  rather  bare,  Eat  Island.  The  view  to  the  right  is  closed 
in  by  two  very  peculiar  conical  detached  rocks,  called  "  The 
Twins." 

The  captain  and  I  went  ashore  in  the  galley  to  pay  our  re- 
spects to  the  governor,  and  to  see  how  the  land  lay.  There  was 
a  heavy  sea  rolling  on  the  rocks  and  beaches.  Some  queer  little 
catamarans  were  moving  about,  each  with  a  man  on  it,  a  stool,  a 
round  basket,  and  a  coil  of  fishing-line.  The  man  either  sat  on 
the  stool,  or  stood  and  propelled  or  guided  his  frail  boat  with 
one  spade-like  paddle,  which  he  plied  alternately  on  either  side. 
Almost  the  whole  of  the  boat,  which  consists  simply  of  two  logs 


102 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap,  II. 


of  wood  fastened  together  with  cross-pieces,  is  below  the  sur- 
face ;  and  three  or  four  of  those  fellows,  with  their  scanty  gar- 
ments— usually  reduced  to  a  pair  of  short  drawers — and  their 
smooth  dark  skins,  look  oddly,  as  if  they  were  running  about 
on  the  water  without  any  support.  One  of  the  catamaran  men 
spoke  to  us  in  English,  and  we  attached  him  to  us  as  inter- 
preter, and  told  him  to  go  before  us  to  the  far  landing-place, 
and  then  guide  us  to  the  governor's  quarters.  Finding  the  sea 
running  so  high  at  the  landing-place  as  to  be  scarcely  safe  for 
a  ship's  boat,  we  pulled  along  the  shore,  and,  taking  advantage 
of  a  lull  between  the  breakers,  we  ran  the  boat  up  on  the  far 
beach,  and  sprung  out  beyond  reach  of  the  surf.  The  road  to 
the  town  lay  in  a  hollow  beyond  the  sea -cliff.  The  road  was 
tolerably  good,  some  part  of  the  way  through  sand  and  gravel, 
with  a  tangle  of  bushes,  most  of  them  covered  with  thick  masses 
of  the  long  yellowish  stems  of  the  parasitical  Ouscuta  Ameri- 
cana. Among  them  was  growing  here  and  there  Jatropha 
urens,  one  of  the  most  noxious  of  the  island  plants,  stinging 
like  a  nettle,  only  much  more  bitterly.  On  the  sides  of  the 
road  the  scrub  became  very  dense — Euphorbias  and  leguminous 
plants,  covered  with  a  tangle  of  creepers  belonging  to  many 
genera  of  the  Circurbitacese,  the  Convolvulacege,  and  Legumi- 
nosse.  The  flowers  of  most  of  these  were  over,  but  still  some 
pretty  blue  tufts  of  pea-bloom  were  scattered  over  the  trees, 
and  a  little  cucumber  was  abundantly  covered  with  pale-yellow 
flowers  and  scarlet  fruit. 

Near  the  village  the  road  crosses  a  ravine,  along  the  sides  of 
which  there  are  some  fine  banyan-trees.  A  pretty  little  dove 
was  in  myriads  in  the  woods.  They  were  so  tame  that  they 
would  scarcely  rise  until  we  came  close  up  to  them ;  and  if  we 
clapped  our  hands,  they  rose  in  a  cloud,  hovered  in  the  air  for 
a  moment,  and  then  settled  down  again. 

On  the  way  our  guide  gave  us  some  information  about  the 
place,  which  we  found,  on  further  inquiry,  to  be  correct.  Fer- 


Plate  XXIV. 


N  Barometer 


DiyMt  Thermometer 


Wet 


E  The,  as  rows  j*vdixxzte/  tJvfy  dzre^dest  o  f  t/vo  wislc( ,  ctn^i/  tA<y  n 
S  2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9   10      II       12      13       14      15  16 


rail 


/V 


it 


64312  5 


11422 


22Z 


2.2.2 


LOQ.223^2 


£22 &23£44 


5454. 


itions  for  the  month  of  August,  1873. 


lib  Thermometer 


Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


*vbers  Iterveath'  vt&  /bi  ce   ace#rclz*v€f  to  Hecui/brG  's  scixLes 

17      18       19      20      21       22      23      24-     26      26      37      28      23      30  31 


c 


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■323 


chap.  II.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


103 


nando  ISToronha  is  a  penal  settlement,  belonging  to  Brazil. 
There  were  then  on  the  island  the  usual  number  of  about  1400 
convicts.  To  hold  them  in  check  there  are  200  soldiers,  a  gov- 
ernor, who  holds  the  rank  of  a  major  in  the  army,  and  one  or 
two  other  officials,  with  their  families.  Beyond  these  there  are 
no  inhabitants  on  the  island,  with  the  exception  of  the  wives  of 
some  of  the  convicts,  and  a  few  women. 

The  usual  terms  of  penal  servitude  range  from  five  to  four- 
teen years.  The  prisoners  in  this  establishment  are  chiefly  of 
a  low  grade,  and  most  of  them  are  convicted  of  heavy  crimes — 
crimes  of  all  kinds,  except,  so  far  as  we  could  learn,  political 
offenses.  In  Brazil  the  crime  of  murder  is  nominally  punished 
with  death,  but  the  sentence  is  usually,  if  not  always,  commuted 
to  one  of  transportation  for  life.  A  large  number  of  the  Fer- 
nando Noronha  convicts  are  under  these  mitigated  sentences. 
The  convicts  enjoy  a  considerable  amount  of  liberty,  and  their 
life  does  not  seem  by  any  means  one  of  great  rigor.  They  are 
allowed  to  build  a  hut,  and  to  cultivate  a  little  piece  of  garden- 
ground  on  their  own  account,  and  to  sell  the  produce.  Their 
time  and  labor,  from  6  a.m.  to  4  p.m.,  belong  to  Government ; 
and  during  that  time  they  cultivate,  in  gangs  on  Government 
land,  principally  a  small  black  bean,  on  which,  as  it  seems,  they 
themselves  chiefly  subsist ;  and  maize,  which  is  exported  about 
monthly  to  Brazil,  in  a  little  Government  steamer,  which  like- 
wise brings  supplies  to  the  island.  The  convicts  receive  from 
Government  each  about  six  shillings  a  month,  and  have  to  keep 
themselves  in  food.  Those  who  are  expert  fishers  are  allowed 
to  ply  their  craft  along  the  shore,  a  single  man  to  a  catamaran, 
and  a  certain  proportion  of  the  take  goes  to  the  Government 
officials.  There  is  no  boat  on  the  island,  even  in  the  hands  of 
the  authorities. 

We  were  all  extremely  anxious  to  work  up  this  island  thor- 
oughly. From  its  remarkable  position  nearly  under  the  equa- 
tor, 190  miles  from  the  nearest  land,  participating,  to  some  ex- 


104 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  II. 


tent,  in  the  conditions  of  the  other  isolated  Atlantic  groups, 
and  yet,  as  we  were  well  aware,  in  all  its  biological  relations 
mainly  a  South  American  colony,  it  presented  features  of  spe- 
cial interest  to  European  naturalists ;  and  it  seemed  to  be  of 
a  size  which  made  it  possible  in  a  few  days  to  exhaust,  at  all 
events,  the  main  features  of  its  natural  history.  Accordingly, 
we  arranged  parties  of  civilians  to  take  up  different  depart- 
ments, and  the  officers  of  the  naval  staff  who  were  not  occupied 
in  surveying  volunteered  to  join  them  and  help  them  in  col- 
lecting. 

In  the  centre  of  the  village,  in  an  open  space  with  a  few  fine 
bread  -  fruit  -  trees,  there  is  a  solid  building,  forming  a  hollow 
square,  which  seems  to  be  used  chiefly  as  a  prison  for  convicts 
guilty  of  offenses  on  the  island,  and  partly  also  as  a  market. 
Near  this  building  a  few  irregular  but  rather  neat -looking 
houses  lodge  the  governor  and  the  Government  officials. 

We  found  the  governor  a  grave,  rather  saturnine  Brazilian, 
silent,  partly  because  he  spoke  no  foreign  language  and  we 
could  only  communicate  with  him  through  an  interpreter,  and 
partly,  I  think,  by  nature.  He  asked  a  number  of  questions 
which  surprised  us  a  good  deal  from  a  man  in  his  position.  He 
inquired  repeatedly  what  port  in  England  we  had  sailed  from, 
and  to  what  English  port  we  meant  to  return.  He  did  not 
seem  to  understand  our  flag  nor  the  captain's  uniform,  and 
asked  if  the  ship  had  a  commission  from  the  British  Govern- 
ment. He  did  not  seem  to  be  quite  able  to  grasp  the  idea  of  a 
man-of-war  for  scientific  purposes,  and  without  her  guns.  He 
was  very  civil,  however,  gave  us  coffee  and  cake,  and  told  us 
that  we  might  do  what  we  liked  on  the  island  in  the  way  of 
shooting,  making  collections,  putting  up  marks  for  surveying, 
etc.,  and  offered  us  horses  and  all  the  aid  in  his  power.  We 
left  him  with  the  understanding  that  we  were  to  get  guides 
from  him  on  the  following  morning,  and  regularly  to  begin  our 
work.    After  our  interview,  Captain  Nares  and  I  wandered 


chap.  II.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


105 


through  the  settlement.  Irregular  "  streets,"  or  double  ranges 
of  huts,  radiate  from  the  central  square.  The  huts  are  all  sep- 
arate, each  with  its  little  garden.  They  are  all  nearly  on  the 
same  plan,  built  of  bamboo  wattles  and  clay,  and  thatched. 
Bananas  grow  wonderfully  luxuriantly,  embowering  the  little 
huts,  some  of  which  are  whitewashed  and  clean  and  very  pict- 
uresque. Often  a  great  pumpkin  plant  had  grown  all  over  the 
roof,  and  loaded  it  with  its  large  fruit.  In  the  gardens  there 
were  water-melons  and  pumpkins,  sweet-potatoes,  cassava,  lentils, 
and  a  few  lemon,  orange,  and  bread-fruit  trees.  The  convicts 
were  everywhere  most  civil ;  they  were  generally  rather  good- 
looking  fellows.  The  great  majority  were  of  various  shades  of 
black,  and  often  with  the  jolly  expression  so  common  in  the 
different  mixtures  of  the  negro  race.  In  some  of  the  huts 
there  were  women  and  children,  and  from  many  of  them  came 
sounds  of  singing  and  laughter,  and  the  music  of  a  guitar  or 
banjo.  It  was  difficult  to  realize  that  the  whole  place  was  a 
prison,  with  a  population  of  convicted  felons  and  their  warders. 

Beyond  the  village  we  came  to  some  old  canebrakes,  and  all 
round  there  was  an  incessant  chirping  of  an  infinite  number  of 
crickets,  not  unlike  our  English  species.  They  ran  over  the 
road  in  all  directions,  and  one  could  see  dozens  at  a  time.  The 
canebrakes  were  full  of  doves,  which  rose  as  we  approached, 
and  fluttered  up  to  the  tops  of  the  canes  and  looked  at  us ;  a 
little  field-mouse  was  very  abundant,  scuttling  about  on  the  path 
and  among  the  dry  leaves ;•  altogether,  the  place  seemed  to  be 
very  full  of  varied  life.  We  walked  over  to  the  other  side  of 
the  rise,  and  had  a  splendid  view  of  the  weather  coast,  with  the 
curiously  formed  rock,  the  "  clocher,"  right  beneath  us,  and  the 
surf  breaking  over  outlying  rocks.  There  were  some  pretty 
views  from  the  high  ground,  through  cultivated  valleys,  dotted 
with  banyan  and  bread-fruit  trees  and  groups  of  palms,  with 
scattered  habitations  of  convicts  half  hidden  among  the  beauti- 
ful foliage  of  the  banana. 


106 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


The  galley  had  been  sent  off,  and  was  to  have  returned  for  us 
after  the  men  had  got  their  supper,  and  one  of  the  cutters  had 
come  on  shore  for  the  other  officers.  The  darkness  falls  in 
these  latitudes  like  a  curtain,  and  it  was  getting  dark  when  we 
reached  the  beach.  The  captain  had  to  look  after  the  embarka- 
tion of  the  party,  as  the  cutter  was  a  bulky  boat  not  well  suited 
for  surf  work,  and  had  to  lie  out  a  little  way.  We  all  went  off 
in  the  cutter,  instead  of  waiting  for  the  galley,  and  had  simply 
to  watch  for  a  favorable  moment  and  make  a  rush  for  it  up  to 
the  middle.  We  caught  only  one  light  breaker,  and  were  soon 
all  floundering  in  the  boat,  amidst  a  storm  of  laughter. 

Early  next  morning,  when  all  our  preparations  were  com- 
pleted and  our  working  -  parties  ready  to  land,  Captain  Nares 
announced  that  the  governor  had  changed  his  mind,  and  did 
not  wish  to  have  the  island  examined.  The  captain  went 
ashore  to  expostulate,  and  as  we  hoped  that  the  change  might 
have  arisen  from  a  misunderstanding  which  might  be  removed, 
boats  went  off  with  several  exploring  parties,  the  boats  to  lie 
off  until  one  or  other  of  two  signals  should  be  made  from  the 
ship — either  the  fore-royal  shaken  out,  in  which  case  all  was  to 
proceed  as  had  been  previously  arranged;  or  the  main- royal 
shaken  out,  when  all  the  boats  were  to  return  to  the  ship. 
Time  wore  on.  My  role  for  the  day  was  to  take  the  steam-pin- 
nace and  dredge  in  moderate  water  off  the  coast.  As  the  gov- 
ernor could  not  well  object  to  that,  I  was  not  to  be  interfered 
with  in  any  case,  so  I  only  waited  to  get  a  derrick  fitted  in  lieu 
of  one  which  had  been  damaged.  About  half- past  ten  the 
main -royal  was  shaken  out,  and  the  general  recall  for  boats 
hoisted. 

The  pinnace  had  just  started,  and  we  ran  back  to  hear  the 
news.  The  governor  was  courteous,  but  obdurate.  We  might 
land ;  he  would  give  us  horses  and  guides,  every  possible  ac- 
commodation ;  we  might  even  shoot  pigeons,  but  we  must  do 
no  scientific  work.    Captain  Nares  asked,  if  we  saw  a  butterfly, 


chap.  II.]        MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


107 


might  we  not  catch  it,  but  he  said  he  would  prefer  that  we 
should  not.  The  governor  of  a  convict  establishment  is  in  a 
very  delicate  position,  and  bears  a  heavy  responsibility,  not  un- 
accompanied with  serious  risk,  and  it  is,  of  course,  difficult  to 
judge  his  conduct  in  such  a  case ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why 
his  determination  should  have  been  exerted  against  our  throw- 
ing light  upon  the  natural  history  of  the  island  only.  Captain 
JSTares  and  a  party  visited  St.  Michael's  Mount  and  "  Eat "  and 
"Platform"  Islands.  Mr.  Moseley  collected  a  great  many 
plants,  and  Mr.  Buchanan  made  some  observations  on  the  geo- 
logical structure  of  the  islands,  which  I  quote  from  his  notes : 

"  The  highest  island,  St.  Michael's  Mount,  forms  one  of  the 
prominent  peaks  which  are  characteristic  of  the  group.  It  is 
very  steep  and  formed  entirely  of  phonolite,  which  occurs  co- 
lumnar at  the  base  and  massive  toward  the  top ;  on  the  western 
side,  where  we  landed,  the  columns  are  inclined  to  the  horizon 
at  an  angle  of  about  30°.  Their  transverse  section  looks  nearly 
square,  the  corners  being,  however,  considerably  rounded  off. 
The  columns  are  for  the  most  part  slender,  and  their  mass  is  of 
a  dirty  green  color.  In  this  the  glassy  feldspar  crystals  are 
arranged  with  great  regularity,  with  their  broadest  faces  in  a 
plane  perpendicular  to  the  length  of  the  column.  The  steep 
sides  of  the  Mount  are  covered  with  loose  blocks  of  massive 
phonolite,  fallen  down  from  above  and  retained  in  position  on 
a  very  steep  incline  by  the  stems  of  most  luxuriant  creeping 
plants.  On  the  weathered  sides  of  these  blocks  the  glassy 
feldspar  crystals,  and  also  the  crystals  of  hornblende,  though  in 
a  less  degree,  project  sometimes  to  the  extent  of  a  quarter  of 
an  inch,  so  much  more  decomposable  is  the  crypto-crystalline 
matrix  than  the  crystals  occurring  porphyritically  in  it.  This 
rock  possesses  in  an  eminent  degree  the  characteristic  property 
from  which  it  derives  its  name :  wThen  struck  with  a  hammer, 
it  literally  rings  like  a  bell. 

"The  rock  is  cleft  from  top  to  bottom  in  two  planes  nearlv 


108 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  ii. 


at  right  angles  to  one  another.  These  clefts  are  filled  up  with 
a  hard  flinty-looking  substance,  which  appears  from  its  struct- 
ure to  have  been  gradually  deposited  from  water  trickling 
down  the  sides.  Its  mass  is  concretionary  and  sometimes  foli- 
ated; its  color  is  white  to  yellowish  white  or  brownish  yellow. 
It  scratches  glass  with  ease,  and  does  not  effervesce  with  acids. 
Plates  of  two  to  three  millimetres  in  thickness  are  quite  trans- 
lucent. Heated  in  the  forceps,  it  does  not  fuse,  but  turns  per- 
fectly white,  and  is  then  easily  crumbled  between  the  fingers, 
and  in  the  closed  tube  it  gives  off  alkaline  reacting  and  em- 
pyreumatic- smelling  water.  It  was  found  to  consist  of  phos- 
phate of  alumina  and  iron,  with  some  silicate  and  sulphate  of 
lime. 

"  Rat  Island  is  the  largest  of  the  secondary  islands,  and  the 
most  distant  from  the  main  island.  It  is  composed  on  the 
western  side  of  massive  basaltic  rock,  and  on  the  eastern  of 
sandstone.  The  sandstone  probably  overlies  the  basalt,  as,  in 
its  structure,  it  bears  the  marks  of  having  been  deposited  in 
drifts,  and  the  sand  is  calcareous,  consisting  of  shell  debris. 
On  the  way  to  and  from  Hat  Island  we  had  to  pass  along  the 
western  side  of  Booby  Island.  The  wave -worn  cliffs  showed 
that  the  island  was  entirely  formed  of  the  above-mentioned  cal- 
careous sandstone ;  no  igneous  rock  was  visible,  and,  as  the  pe- 
culiar wind-blown  stratification-marks  are  continued  below  the 
level  of  the  sea,  it  is  probable  that  the  land  here  is  sinking,  or, 
at  all  events,  has  sunk.  Platform  Island  consists  of  a  mass  of 
perfect  basaltic  columns  rising  out  of  the  water  and  supporting 
a  covering  of  massive  basalt,  on  which  is  spread  out  the  plat- 
form of  calcareous  rock  on  which  are  the  ruins  of  a  fort,  and 
from  which  the  island  doubtless  takes  its  name." 

In  the  pinnace  we  went  along  the  northern  shore  of  the 
main  island,  dredging  nine  times,  in  water  from  seven  to  twenty 
fathoms  deep.  We  got  surprisingly  little,  only  a  few  crusta- 
ceans, one  or  two  star-fishes,  and  a  pretty  little  Cidaris.  We 


chap,  ii.]        MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


109 


passed  some  very  beautiful  bits  of  coast  scenery ;  a  series  of 
little  sandy  bays  with  a  steep  cultivated  slope  above  them,  or  a 
dense  tangle  of  trees  absolutely  imbedded  in  one  sheet  of  mat- 
ted climbers,  separated  by  bold  headlands  of  basalt  or  trap-tuff. 
There  was  one  particularly  beautiful  view  when  we  opened 
" Les  Jumeaux,"  and  had  the  peak  directly  behind  them. 

Farther  on,  the  cliffs  became  even  more  precipitous,  with 
nests  of  sea-birds  on  all  the  ledges ;  tropic  birds ;  a  beautiful 
little  tern,  snowy  white,  which  usually  flew  in  pairs  a  foot  or 
two  apart,  one  following  all  the  motions  of  the  other,  like  a 
pair  of  paper  butterflies  obedient  to  the  fan  of  a  Japanese  jug- 
gler. We  could  see  these  terns  flying  over  the  land,  and  often 
alighting  upon  the  trees.  The  noddy  was  very  common,  and 
the  booby  in  considerable  numbers.  High  upon  the  cliffs  we 
could  see  the  nests  of  the  frigate-bird  (Tachypetes  aquila),  and 
from  time  to  time  one  of  these  splendid  birds  moved  in  slow 
and  graceful  circles  over  our  heads.  We  lay  for  some  time  be- 
low the  cliffs,  admiring  the  wonderful  wealth  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  and  returned  slowly  to  the  ship. 

In  the  mean  time,  some  of  our  party  had  been  foraging  in 
the  town,  buying  up  what  they  could  from  the  convicts ;  and 
we  were  glad  to  see  a  goodly  pile  of  water  and  marsh  melons, 
very  desirable  in  hot  weather  after  a  long  spell  at  sea. 

On  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  3d  of  September,  we 
weighed  anchor  and  left  Fernando  Noronha.  Some  of  us  who 
had  set  our  hearts  upon  preparing  a  monograph  of  the  natu- 
ral history  of  the  isolated  little  island,  and  had  made  all  our 
arrangements  for  the  purpose,  were,  of  course,  greatly  disap- 
pointed ;  but,  underlying  our  disappointment,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  relief  on  leaving  a 
place  which,  with  all  its  natural  richness  and  beauty,  is  simply 
a  prison,  the  melancholy  habitation  of  irreclaimable  criminals. 

To  show  the  rate  at  which  the  floor  of  the  sea  sinks  in  the 
neighborhood  of  these  volcanic  islands :  at  11.40  a.m.  on  the 
II.— 8 


110 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


3d  we  sounded  in  400  fathoms,  and  at  1.30  in  525  fathoms,  at  a 
distance  of  about  six  miles  and  a  half  from  the  island ;  at  3 
o'clock  we  sounded  in  820  fathoms,  with  a  rocky  bottom,  at  a 
distance  of  twelve  miles  ;  and  at  4.40  p.m.  the  depth  was  2275 
fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze. 

On  the  4th  we  sounded  in  2150  fathoms,  lat.  5°  1'  S.,  long. 
33°  50r  W.,  about  ninety  miles  from  Cape  St.  Roque,  and  again 
found  a  comparatively  low  bottom  temperature,  +0°'7  C;  and 
on  the  three  following  days  we  proceeded  quietly  under  steam, 
sounding  from  time  to  time  in  the  direction  of  Bahia,  our 
course  lying  nearly  parallel  with  the  American  coast,  which  we 
could  sometimes  see — usually  a  low,  uninteresting  range  of 
sandy  dunes,  the  dark  line  of  the  forest  occasionally  visible  in 
the  background,  or  the  horizon  broken  by  a  delicate  feathery 
fringe  of  palm-trees.  On  the  8th  of  September  we  sounded 
in  2050  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  temperature  of  l°'l  C. ;  and  in 
the  evening  we  sounded  in  22  fathoms,  and  passed  within  sight 
of  the  lights  of  Pernambuco  and  Olinda. 


Fig.  m.—Ceratotrochvs  diadema,  Moself.y.    Once  and  a  half  the  natural  size.    (No.  120.) 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  we  were  off  Cape  Agostinho. 
We  sounded  in  675  fathoms  in  a  globigerina  ooze  largely  mixed 
with  river  mud.  The  haul,  as  usual  in  such  moderate  depths, 
produced  a  large  number  of  diverse  invertebrates  and  a  few 
very  interesting  fishes  of  deep-sea  types. 


f 


Fig.  n.-Pentawinus  Maclearanus,  Wyviixe  Thomson.    Slightly  enlarged.   (No.  122.) 


chap,  ii.]         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


113 


Among  the  actinozoa,  this  haul  yielded  a  very  beautiful  new 
coral  (Fig.  30),  which  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Moseley  under 
the  name  of  Ceratotrochus  diadema. 

The  corallum  is  white,  shallow,  and  saucer  -  shaped,  with  a 
short  rudimentary  pedicle  and  a  small  scar  of  adherence.  The 
primary  and  secondary  costse  are  prominent  and  serrate  ;  there 
are  six  systems  of  septa  and  five  cycles ;  the  whole  of  the  septa 
are  exsert,  the  primary  and  secondary  extremely  so,  projecting 
10  mm.  above  the  margin  of  the  calicle.  The  quinary  septa 
unite  with  the  quaternary,  the  quaternary  with  the  tertiary,  the 
tertiary  with  the  secondary.  The  primary  septa  remain  free 
throughout  their  whole  course  to  the  columella ;  the  columella 
is  large  and  oval,  and  composed  of  contorted  fascicular  matter. 
The  extreme  diameter  of  the  corallum  between  the  tips  of  the 
exsert  septa  is  5*75  centims.,  the  extreme  height  2*15  centims. 

A  young  living  specimen  of  this  coral  had  been  previously 
dredged  at  Station  LXXYIII.  between  the  islands  of  San  Mi- 
guel and  Santa  Maria,  at  a  depth  of  1000  fathoms ;  and  the 
single  adult  specimen  now  procured  was  without  its  soft  parts, 
but  perfectly  fresh,  and  apparently  only  recently  dead. 

On  the  following  day,  keeping  nearly  the  same  course,  we 
trawled  three  times  at  a  depth  of  about  400  fathoms,  and  got  a 
large  number  of  very  interesting  forms,  the  assemblage,  on  the 
whole,  reminding  us  very  much  of  the  fauna  at  about  the  same 
depth  off  the  coast  of  Portugal.  Among  the  special  prizes  were 
two  specimens  of  the  rare  little  crinoid  jRhizocrinus  lofotensis, 
each  infested  by  several  individuals  of  a  species  of  Stylifer; 
and  a  single  example  of  a  fine  undescribed  species  of  the  genus 
Pentacrinus,  of  which  I  shall  now  give  a  preliminary  notice, 
proposing  for  it  the  name  Pentacrinus  Maclearanus*  (Fig.  31). 

The  length  of  the  entire  specimen  is  about  13  centims. ;  and 


*  I  dedicate  this  species  to  Captain  Maclear,  K.  N.,  whose  friendly  co-operation  in 
his  important  executive  capacity  of  commander  of  the  Challenger  was  of  the  great- 
est importance  to  us. 


114  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  n. 

of  these  8*5  centims.  are  occupied  by  the  cup  and  the  crown  of 
arms  and  4*5  by  the  stem.  As  in  P.  asteria  the  basal  joints  of 
the  stem  form  interradial  button -like  projections,  but  the  pro- 
jecting bosses  are  very  evidently  pointed  and  slightly  prolonged 
downward,  thus  showing  a  tendency  toward  the  depending  proc- 
esses which  attain  such  remarkable  dimensions  in  the  liassic  ge- 
nus Extracrinus.  The  first  radials  are  low  and  fiat — shorter  in 
proportion  to  their  width  than  in  P.  asteria  and  P.  Mulleri  * 
the  second  radial  and  the  radial  axillary  have  much  the  same 
form  and  relations  as  they  have  in  the  previously  known  spe- 
cies ;  as  in  P.  asteria  there  is  a  true  joint  between  the  first  and 
second  radials  and  a  syzygial  junction  between  the  second  radial 
and  the  radial  axillary.  The  radial  axillaries  support  two  sym- 
metrical first  brachials,  which  are  connected  with  the  second 
brachials  by  a  syzygy.  From  this  point  the  branching  of  the 
arms  is  very  uniform ;  each  of  the  ten  primary  arms  gives  off, 
as  a  rule,  two  secondary  arms  from  the  inside  close  to  the  base. 
To  take  one  arm  as  an  example  of  this  style  of  branching :  the 
radial  axillary  bears  two  facets  right  and  left  for  two  uniform 
first  brachials,  which  are  united  by  syzygies  to  brachial  axilla- 
ries ;  these  latter  have  two  facets  of  unequal  size,  the  left  facet 
on  the  right  joint  and  the  right  facet  on  the  left  joint  being 
small  and  supporting  a  simple  arm,  while  the  outer  facet  on 
either  joint  supports  a  third  radial,  which  is  connected  by  a 
syzygy  with  a  second  unequally  facetted  brachial  axillary ;  here 
again  the  smaller  facets  are  on  the  inside  on  each  arm,  and  these 
give  off  simple  arms ;  simple  arms  spring  likewise  from  the 
outer  and  larger  facets,  but  these  are  considerably  more  robust, 
and  are  evidently  the  continuations  of  the  primary  arms.  Were 
this  mode  of  division  absolutely  constant,  the  number  of  arms 
would  be  thirty,  but  the  arrangement  is  slightly  irregular,  and 
in  the  specimen  procured  thirty-one  arms  are  present. 

The  arms  are  more  regularly  semi -cylindrical  and  more  ro- 
bust than  in  P.  asteria,  and  they  have  rather  a  tendency  to 


chap.  II.  J         MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL.  115 

widen  toward  the  middle  of  the  arm.  The  joints  are  wider 
and  shorter  than  in  any  of  the  other  forms ;  and  the  crest  along 
the  distal  edge,  which  is  very  distinct  in  P.  asteria,  P.  Mulleri, 
and  P.  WyviUe  -  Thomsoni,  is  scarcely  perceptible.  The  arms 
consist  of  about  seventy  joints,  and  there  are  no  true  syzygies 
distal  to  the  last  radial  axillaries.  The  pinnules  are  compara- 
tively broad  and  flat,  and  consist  of  about  fifteen  joints.  The 
disk  can  not  be  well  seen  in  consequence  of  the  attitude  and 
rigidity  of  the  arms  in  our  single  example,  but  it  appears  to 
resemble  closely  that  of  P.  Mulleri. 

The  structure  of  the  stem  is  manifestly  different  from  that 
of  all  the  hitherto  described  species.  The  nodal  joints  are 
rather  short  and  very  much  inflated,  projecting  interradially  in 
round  bead-like  knobs,  and  the  inter-nodes  consist  of  only  two 
very  thin  plate -like  joints,  so  that  the  nodal  joints  with  the 
rings  of  cirri  are  crowded  together.  The  cirri  start  abruptly 
from  a  single  nodal  joint,  as  in  P.  asteria  and  in  P.  Wyville- 
Thomsoni;  they  are  robust,  they  consist  of  about  twenty-five 
joints,  and  in  our  specimen  they  are  closely  curled  downward. 
From  the  attitude  of  the  cirri,  and  from  the  appearance  of  the 
end  of  the  stem,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  specimen  is 
complete,  that  it  is  mature,  and  that  it  was  living  in  an  unat- 
tached condition.  Pentacrinus  Maclearamis  is  thus  very  dis- 
tinct from  the  three  hitherto  recognized  species — P.  asteria,  P. 
Mulleri,  and  P.  Wyville-Thomsoni  ;  perhaps  it  approaches  the 
last  most  nearly,  but  it  differs  from  it  markedly  in  the  structure 
and  arrangement  of  the  arms,  and  totally  in  the  construction  of 
the  stem. 


116 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


APPENDIX  A. 


Table  of  Temperatures  observed  behveen  Madeira  and  Station  102. 


Depth  in 

ia 

2 

oo°£ 

00 

S  0 

Co 

el" 

c  „ 

c  „  „ 

Fathoms. 

o  c 
'■3  v 

00 

'-3  on 

00 

.2«JO 

.2  « 

cn 

J« 

ex 

.go 

.-.  CN 

w  . 

bi 
a 

55  «i 

si 
a 

■2"  „V 
EG  if 

a 

a 

d 

«0  j  c° 

03  O 

03  O 

03  O 

o 

Kl 

■3 

03  O 

Surface. 

21° 

•7  a 

20° 

7C. 

21° -7  a 

22° 

•5C. 

22° 

•2C. 

23° 

•oc. 

23° 

•3  a 

23°  -3  C. 

25 

20 

•o 

17 

2 

19 

•5 

50 

17 

•o 

16 

2 

18 

•o 

75 

16 

•9 

15 

•5 

17 

•5 

100 

16 

•2 

14 

6 

17 

•2 

16 

•i 

17 

•7 

16 

•7 

14  '-i 

200 

13 

•5 

12 

■7 

13 

•o 

13 

•3 

13 

•3 

12  -8 

300 

10 

•9 

10 

•7 

10 

•2 

10 

•2 

10 

•o 

9  -8 

400 

9 

•9 

9 

0 

8 

•o 

7 

•4 

7 

•2 

7  '7 

500 

S 

•7 

7 

•6 

0 

•8 

6 

•8 

6 

•s 

6  -2 

600 

8 

•4 

6 

•o 

5 

•7 

5 

•4 

5  '3 

700 

6 

•9 

5 

•2 

5 

•2 

5 

•2 

5  -0 

800 

5 

•5 

4 

•7 

4 

•7 

3 

•1 

3  -3 

900 

4 

•7 

4 

•2 

4 

•1 

3 

•6 

3  -2 

1000 

4 

•1 

3 

•5 

3 

•4 

3 

•3 

3  '6 

1100 

2 

•1 

3 

•o 

1200 

2 

•1 

2 

•8 

1300 

2 

•o 

2 

•4 

1400 

1 

•9 

2 

•3 

1500 

2 

•3 

Bottom  Tem-l 
perature.  j 

1°'8 

l°-65 

l°-8 

1° 

•7 

l°-75 

Depth  

2300 

2300 

2400 

2400 

2075 

iz 

fi 

Depth  in 

ao 

3?  S 

o 

c 

rf  CM 

- 

c 

C  0 

a 

c 

Fathoms. 

1  CN 

.2  <> 

2§ 

.2 

g 

iO 

_c 

S.   .  bi 

3 ' 

.  si 

1" 

50 

55 

.  bi 

03 

5 

£ 

.  si 

.  si 

.  sc 

a 

03  o 

u  a 

w 

to 

a 

55 

CO 

-J  c 

03  o 

03  O 

03  O 

Surface. 

23< 

•7C. 

26° 

•ic. 

25° 

9  a 

25 

•5C. 

25° 

7  a 

25 

°-6C. 

26 

'•1C. 

26 

■2  a 

25 

3-6C. 

25 

15 

•7 

20 

•6 

19 

•2 

22 

•6 

50 

20 

•o 

12 

3 

15 

•2 

15 

•2 

17 

:3 

16 

'•'6 

17 

•o 

18 

■3 

75 

11 

8 

12 

•7 

13 

•o 

15 

•o 

16 

•1 

100 

16 

!6 

ii' 

:3 

10 

•s 

11 

•7 

12 

•5 

13 

'•4 

12 

•8 

13 

•4 

13 

•8 

200 

11 

•1 

10 

•1 

9 

■3 

9 

•4 

8 

•7 

9 

•8 

9 

•7 

8 

•s 

10 

•4 

300 

8 

•3 

7 

•8 

7 

•8 

6 

•7 

7 

•2 

7 

•6 

6 

•1 

6 

•2 

5 

•3 

400 

6 

•5 

6 

•o 

6 

•2 

5 

•7 

5 

•3 

5 

•5 

5 

•4 

4 

•8 

4 

•7 

500 

5 

•9 

4 

•8 

5 

•o 

4 

•6 

5 

•o 

5 

•o 

4 

•6 

4 

•o 

3 

•8 

600 

4 

•8 

4 

•5 

4 

•3 

4 

•0 

3 

•9 

4 

•3 

700 

4 

•4 

4 

•8 

4 

•2 

3 

•9 

3 

•9 

3 

•7 

800 

4 

•5 

4 

•2 

3 

•6 

3 

•8 

3 

•9 

3 

•3 

900 

3 

■6 

3 

•6 

3 

•2 

3 

•3 

2 

•4 

1000 

3 

•2 

3 

•4 

3 

•2 

3 

•6 

1100 

2 

•8 

3 

•1 

2 

•4 

2 

•9 

2 

•9 

1200 

2 

•7 

2 

•8 

1 

•6 

2 

•s 

2 

•6 

1300 

1 

•3 

2 

•8 

2 

•2 

2 

•6 

2 

•2 

1400 

2 

•5 

2 

•4 

1 

•9 

2 

•7 

2 

•2 

1500 

2 

•7 

2 

•3 

2 

•8 

3 

•o 

2 

•2 

Bot'm  Tern-) 
perature.  / 

1° 

•8 

1 

■8 

2° 

0 

1° 

•7 

r 

•7 

Depth  

2300 

2575 

1750 

2500 

2450 

chap.  II.]        MADEIRA  TO  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL.  117 


Table  of  Temperatures  observed  betiveen  Station  103  and  Bahia. 


Depth  in 
Fathoms. 

Station  103. 
Lat.      2°  49'  N. 
Long.  17°  13'  W. 

Station  104. 
Lat.      2°  25'  N. 
Long.  20°  V  W. 

Station  105. 
Lat.      2°  6'N. 
Long.  22°  53'  W. 

Station  106. 
Lat.  1°47'N. 
Long.  24°  26'  W. 

Station  107. 
Lat.  1°22'N. 
Long.  26°  36'  W. 

Station  108. 
Lat.  1°10'N. 
Long.  28°  23'  W. 

Station  110. 
Lat.     0°  9'N. 
Long.  30°  18'  W. 

Station  111. 
Lat.  1°45'S. 
Long.  30°  58'  W. 

Surface. 
50 

100 

150 

200 

300 

400 

500 

GOO 

700 

800 

900 
1000 
1100 
1200 
1300 
1400 
1500 

2 
1 
1 
1 

5°-0C. 

7  '4 

3  '3 
1  -6 

8  -3 
5  '9 

4  '7 
4  -4 

25°  "6  C. 
17  '7 
13  -8 

9  '4 
6  '9 
G  -2 

4  -2 
3  -5 
3  -7 
3  -5 

2  -5 

3  -1 
2  -4 
2  '4 
2  -4 
2  -0 

25° -6  C. 

13  '-3 

7  -7 
5  -9 

4  -5 

26° -0C. 
10  "9 
12  -7 

7  -2 
4  -7 
4  -6 

4  -i 

4  '2 
4  "2 
3  '9 

2  '5 

3  '2 
2  -G 

2  -7 
2  -4 

2G°'0C. 

25° -9C. 

25° -3C. 
19  '6 
13  -4 

8  -2 
5  -4 
4  -2 
4  -0 
3  -7 
3  -9 
3  -8 

3 

3  '2 
2  -6 
2  -0 
2  -4 
2  -2 

25°  -3C. 

Bottom  Tern-) 
peratnre.  j 

l°-6 

•l°-7 

l°-4 

l°-8 

2° -8 

2°1 

0°-9 

0°-2 

Depth  

2475 

2500 

2275 

1850 

1500 

1900 

2275 

2475 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

Station  112. 
Lat.     3°  33'  S. 
Long.  32°  16'  W. 

Station  113. 
Lat.     3°  50'  S. 
Long.  32°  35'  W. 

Station  116. 
Lat.     5°  l'S. 
Long.  33°  50'  W. 

Station  118. 
Lat.  7°28'S. 
Long.  34°  2'W. 

Station  119. 
Lat.     7°  39'  S. 
Long.  34°  12'  W. 

Station  123. 
Lat.    10°  9'  S. 
Long.  35°  11'  W. 

i 

Surface. 

25c 

•6  C. 

2< 

;°-o  c. 

25° -6  C. 

25°  -1C. 

2, 

>°-3  C. 

25°  -3 

C. 

25° -0  C. 

50 

17 

•3 

100 

12 

•4 

12' -4 

16  -8 

150 

200 

8 

•*2 

7  "4 

S  -6 

300 

5 

•3 

5  -7 

5  -0 

400 

4 

•o 

4  -0 

5  -7 

500 

3 

•6 

3  -3 

$  -7 

600 

4 

•0 

700 

4 

•o 

3;5 

800 

4 

•2 

3  '5 

900 

3 

•4 

3  -5 

1000 

2 

•9 

3  '2 

1100 

2 

•9 

2  -4 

1200 

2 

•s 

1300 

2 

•8 

2 ''4 

1400 

2 

•3 

2  -3 

1500 

2 

•5 

2  -S 

Bottom  Tem-\ 
peratnre.  J 

0° 

•5 

2° -8 

0°'7 

1°-1 

2° -3 

2°'3 

3°-3 

Depth  

2200 

1010 

2275 

2050 

1650 

1715 

1015 

118 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


APPENDIX  B. 


Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  500  Fathoms,  taken 
between  Madeira  and  Station  102  (Lat.  3°  8'  N.,  Long.  14°  49'  W.). 


05  2  c3 

o?5» 

O  r-i  To 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

goo 

°  OS  00 

Co^o 

Stat 
it.  1 

>ng.  2 

Stat 
it. 

>ng.  1 

Stati 
it. 

02*:  B 

cs  o 

OS  o 

Surface. 

25°  '9  C. 

25° -7  C. 

26° -1  C. 

26° -2  C. 

25° '6  C. 

10 

21  -4 

26  -1 

25  -8 

20 

17  -1 

25  -6 

23  '9 

30 

23  -0 

23  -0 

40 

17  -9 

20  -8 

50 

12  '  *3 

15  *2 

16  -0 

17  -0 

18  -3 

00 

15  -8 

75 

ii  vs 

13  -0 

15  -b 

16  -1 

100 

10  -8 

12  '5 

12  VS 

13  -4 

13  -8 

125 

10  -7 

11  -7 

12  -4 

150 

10  -o 

11  -o 

11  -2 

12  V6 

175 

9  -S 

200 

9  "3 

8  V7 

9  -7 

8  VS 

10  '-4 

250 

8  -6 

300 

7  -8 

7  V2 

6  -1 

6  -2 

5  ';3 

350 

G  -7 

400 

5  V3 

5  '4 

4  '-8 

4  -7 

450 

6  -0 

500 

5  -0 

*5  -  0 

4  V6 

4  -0 

3  Vs 

APPENDIX  C. 


Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  Fathoms,  taken 
between  Station  102  and  Bahia. 


«^ 

^  a.  co 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

_0  CO  "tf 

Co  o 

Co  0 
_0  (M  O 

Coo 
_C 

Coo 

•-  °  CO 

-2  bi 

&  .  si 

-2  b£ 

co*:  a 

CS  o 

co  *:  a 

CO*v"  c3 

co  *S  a 

jj 

OS  O 

i-J  J 

►J  J 

s  0 

1-5  Hi 

Surface. 

25° "6  C. 

25° -0  C. 

25° -6  C. 

26° -0  C. 

25°'3  C. 

25° "6  C. 

10 

25  -8 

25  -S 

25  -8 

25  -0 

23  '9 

20 

23  -9 

23  -4 

25  -4 

25  -8 

25  -2 

25  -6 

30 

23  -0 

23  -6 

25  -3 

25  -7 

25  -0 

25  -3 

40 

20  -8 

21  -4 

19  -3 

24  -6 

22  -1 

22  -9 

50 

18  -3 

17.  '4 

17  '7 

16  -9 

19  -6 

17  -3 

60 

15  -8 

16  -S 

15  -8 

15  -0 

16  *4 

15  -0 

70 

16  -1 

14  -7 

75 

16  -i 

15  -4 

13  -G 

80 

15" -3 

90 

15  -3 

100 

13  -8 

13  -3 

12  "'4 

150 

12  -6 

11  -6 

200 

10  -4 

8  -3 

s  "2 

chap.  II.]         MADEIRA  TO  TEE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL. 


119 


APPENDIX  D. 


Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Madeira  and  Bahia  during 
the  Months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1873. 


Date, 
1873. 

Latitude 
North. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (f)  at 
which  the 
Water  was 
taken. 

Temperature 

« 

Temperature 

(t')  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°  5. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

July  IS 

30° 

38' 

1S° 

5' 

Surface. 

21° 

•  7C. 

22c 

■oc. 

1-02564 

1-02733 

1-02569 

19 

28 

42 

18 

G 

1125 

20 

•  7 

22 

•0 

1-02570 

1-02739 

1-02603 

20 

27 

0 

19 

38 

22 

•  2 

22 

•8 

1-02563 

1-02755 

1-02578 

21 

25 

46 

20 

34 

2300 

22 

•  5 

23 

•2 

1-0254S 

1-02753 

1  -02568 

" 

Bottom. 

1 

•  8 

20 

•1 

1-02513 

1-02631 

T02S32 

22 

23* 

58 

21 

'is 

2300 

Surface. 

22 

•  9 

23 

•8 

1-02539 

1-02762 

1-02562 

Bottom. 

1 

•65 

24 

•2 

1-02390 

1-02625 

1-02827 

400 

8 

•  0 

24 

•2 

1-02396 

1-02631 

1-0276S 

23 

22* 

18 

22 

"2 

2400 

Surface. 

23 

•  0 

24 

•1 

1-02494 

1-02727 

1-02523 

24 

20 

58 

22 

57 

2400 

i' 

23 

■  3 

23 

•9 

1-02469 

1-02695 

1-024S7 

100 

16 

•  7 

23 

•5 

1-0252S 

1-02742 

1-02712 

150 

15 

•  0 

23 

•5 

1-02454 

1-02668 

1-02679 

300 

10 

•  0 

23 

•5 

1-02438 

1-02652 

1-02760 

" 

400 

1 

•  2 

93 

"5 

1 -02405 

1 "02619 

500 

6 

•75 

20 

•7 

1-02477 

1-02610 

1-02765 

Bottom. 

1 

•  8 

23 

•5 

1 -02438 

1-02652 

1-02853 

25 

19' 

"4 

24* 

"*6 

2075 

Surface. 

23 

•  6 

23 

•9 

1-02491 

1-02717 

1-02495 

100 

14 

•  1 

23 

•9 

1-02418 

1-02644 

1-02676 

200 

12 

•  8 

24 

•0 

1-02427 

1-02656 

1-02715 

300 

9 

•  8 

23 

•9 

1-02401 

1-02630 

1-02741 

400 

7 

•  7 

23 

•9 

1-023S7 

1-02613 

1-02756 

Bottom. 

1 

•75 

21 

•0 

1-0255S 

1-02698 

1-02899 

26 

li' 

54 

24' 

41 

i975 

Surface. 

23 

'  9 

24 

•6 

1-02460 

1-02709 

1-02478 

45 

20 

•  0 

23 

•4 

1-02540 

1-02751 

1-02636 

75 

IS 

•  5 

23 

•0 

1-02522 

1-02721 

1-02643 

100 

16 

•  6 

22 

•8 

1-02492 

1-026S4 

1  -02659 

2T 

if 

10 

25* 

"O 

1070 

Surface. 

24 

•  2 

25 

•1 

1-02442 

1-02708 

1-02470 

August  6 

15 

43 

24 

15 

25 

•  6 

26 

•1 

1-02422 

1-02719 

1-02434 

10 

13 

36 

22 

49 

26 

•  1 

26 

•7 

1-02374 

1-02692 

1-02392 

2300 

Bottom. 

1 

•  8 

26 

•1 

1-02321 

1-02618 

1-02820 

11 

12" 

15 

22' 

28 

Surface. 

25 

•  9 

2G 

•6 

1-0234S 

1-02663 

1-02371 

25 

15 

25 

•6 

1 -02383 

1-02664 

1-02658 

50 

12 

•  3 

25 

•5 

1-02360 

1-02640 

1-02708 

100 

10 

•  8 

25 

•6 

1-02355 

1-02636 

1-02731 

200 

9 

•  3 

25 

1-02338 

1-02622 

1-02741 

300 

7 

•  8 

25 

•6 

1-02347 

1-02628 

1  -02767 

12 

11' 

59 

21 ' 

12 

Surface. 

26 

•  1 

26 

•5 

1-02323 

1-02632 

1  -02332 

13 

10 

25 

20 

30 

25 

'  5 

26 

•2 

1-02323 

1-02623 

1-02343 

50 

15 

•  2 

26 

•1 

1-02346 

1-02643 

1-02649 

ii 

100 

11 

•  7 

25 

•9 

1-02344 

1-02633 

1-02710 

300 

6 

•  7 

26 

•1 

1-02332 

1-02629 

1-02773 

2575 

Bottom. 

1 

•  8 

25 

•9 

1-02326 

1-02615 

1-02S16 

14 

9' 

15 

18' 

28 

Surface. 

25 

•  7 

26 

•5 

1-02309 

1-02618 

1-02331 

Bottom. 

2 

•  0 

26 

•2 

1-0231S 

1-02619 

1-02816 

15 

f 

53 

17' 

26 

Surface. 

25 

•  6 

25 

•9 

1-02322 

1-02612 

1-02330 

16 

7 

15 

55 

2G 

•  1 

26 

•3 

1-02322 

1  -02625 

1-02326 

40 

17 

•  9 

25 

•2 

1-02392 

1-02661 

1-02599 

100 

12 

•  8 

25 

•2 

1-02366 

1-02635 

1-02690 

200 

9 

•  7 

25 

•2 

1-02340 

1-02609 

1  02721 

120 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  II. 


Date, 
1873. 

Latitude 
North. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (6)  at 
which  the 
Water  was 
taken. 

Temperature 

a 

Temperature 

it')  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 
4°  -  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°'5. 
Water  at 
4°   -  1. 

j  Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

Aug.  17 

0° 

44' 

16° 

42' 

Surface. 

26° 

•  1C. 

26°  "2  C. 

1-02337 

1-02639 

1-02340 

18 

6 

11 

15 

57 

26 

0 

26 

'3 

1-02344 

1-02647 

1-02350 

19 

5 

48 

14 

20 

a 

26 

2 

26 

"5 

1-02336 

1-02645 

1-02343 

20 

4 

29 

13 

52 

<c 

26 

•  2 

26 

*4 

1-02325 

1-02632 

1-02330 

21 

3 

8 

14 

49 

(( 

25 

•  6 

ZD 

'8 

1-02314 

1-02601 

1-02318 

a 

50 

IS 

•  3 

25 

'3 

1-0239S 

1-0266S 

1-02594 

" 

100 

13 

•  8 

•0 

a 

1-023S5 

1-02653 

1-026S7 

200 

10 

•  4 

25 

'2 

1  -02362 

1  -02630 

1-02731 

300 

5 

•  3 

25 

'2 

1-02352 

1-02620 

1-02793 

a 

400 

4 

7 

25 

'2 

1-02373 

1-02639 

1-02819 

tt 

2450 

Bottom. 

1 

7 

25 

1-02341 

1-02606 

1-02808 

22 

2 

52 

17* 

"0 

2475 

Surface. 

25 

■  8 

26 

'0 

1-02338 

1-02632 

1-02342 

23 

2 

25 

20 

1 

2500 

25 

6 

25 

'8 

1-02327 

1-02613 

1-02330 

Bottom. 

1 

7 

24 

*9 

1-02353 

1-02611 

1-02808 

24 

2 

G 

22' 

*53 

2275 

Surface. 

25 

6 

26 

•j_ 

1-02320 

1-02617 

1-02333 

25 

1 

47 

24 

26 

1850 

26 

•  0 

26 

•l 

1-02331 

1-0262S 

1-02331 

26 

1 

22 

26 

36 

1500 

(C 

26 

0 

26 

'0 

1-02332 

1-02626 

1-02329 

25 

25 

'2 

1-02341 

1-02610 

50 

25 

•\ 

1-02374 

1-02640 

90 

25 

'0 

1-02375 

1-02637 

1-02613 

«t 

200 

25 

"0 

1-02355 

1-02617 

1-02797 

300 

25 

'0 

1-02366 

1-02628 

1-02SOS 

'( 

400 

25 

'0 

1-02316 

1-0257S 

1-02759 

27 

i 

10 

28 ' 

23 

1900 

Surface. 

25* 

"6 

25 

•7 

1-02366 

1-02651 

1-02369 

30 

0 

4 

30 

20 

<; 

25 

3 

25 

"8 

1-023S9 

1-02677 

1-02405 

2275 

Bottom. 

0 

9 

25 

•8 

1-02327 

1-02614 

1-02821 

31 

2 

6  8. 

31 

4 

2475 

Surface. 

25 

•  7 

26 

•2 

1-023S7 

1  -02692 

1-02407 

Sept.  1 

3 

42  ' 

32 

21 

25 

6 

26 

•1 

1-023S2 

1-02679 

1-02396 

2200 

Bottom. 

0 

•  5 

24 

•3 

1-02376 

1-02613 

1-02822 

4 

5 

"l 

33" 

50 

Surface. 

25 

6 

25 

•4 

1-02362 

1-02635 

1-02351 

2275 

Bottom. 

0 

7 

25 

•4 

1-02346 

1-02619 

1.02827 

fi 

4' 

45 

33' 

"7 

Surface. 

25 

8 

25 

•2 

1-02402 

1-02672 

1-02383 

6 

5 

54 

34 

39 

"is 

a 

25 

6 

25 

•5 

1-02404 

1-02697 

1-02403 

7 

6 

38 

34 

33 

tt 

25 

6 

25 

•5 

1-02411 

1-02704 

1-02421 

8 

7 

39 

34 

12 

1650 

a 

25 

1 

25 

•7 

1-02473 

1-02760 

1-02468 

9 

S 

33 

34 

30 

675 

25 

6 

25 

•9 

1  -02462 

1-02752 

1-02469 

10 

9 

10 

34 

49 

25 

•  3 

25 

•8 

1-02464 

1-02752 

1-02481 

'466 

Bottom. 

26 

•3 

T02376 

1-02679 

11 

l6" 

11 

35' 

22 

1715 

2* 

"3 

26 

•3 

1-0237S 

1-026S1 

1-02876 

12 

10 

46 

36 

8 

Surface. 

25 

•  4 

25 

•8 

1-02471 

1-02759 

1-02484 

1200 

Bottom. 

26 

•2 

1-02443 

1-02749 

13 

li" 

52 

37' 

10 

1015 

Surface. 

25' 

•0 

25 

•0 

1-02497 

1-12759 

1-02497 

CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


121 


CHAPTEE  III. 

BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 

A  Shower  of  Butterflies. — Bahia  de  Todos  os  Santos. — Excursion  into  the  Forest.— 
San  Salvador. — Hospitality  of  the  English  Residents. — Dredging  in  Shallow  Wa- 
ter in  the  Bay. — A  Case  of  Yellow  Fever  and  our  Consequent  Abrupt  Departure. 
— Fungia  symmetrica. — Tristan  d'Acunha. — Inaccessible  Island. — Story  of  the 
Stoltenhoffs. — The  Birds  of  Inaccessible  Island. — The  Habits  of  the  Penguin. — 
Nightingale  Island. — Subsequent  History  of  Tristan  d'Acunha. — Voyage  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. — We  leave  the  Atlantic. 

Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Bahia  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

Appendix  B. — Table  of  Serial  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms,  taken  between  Bahia 

and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Appendix  C. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Bahia  and  the  Cape  of 

Good  Hope  during  the  Months  of  September  and  October,  1873. 

We  trawled  again  on  the  11th  in  1715  fathoms,  and  this  haul 
gave,  along  with  a  characteristic  assemblage  of  the  ordinary 
deep-sea  invertebrates,  a  specimen  of  Eujplectella  suberea,  a  spe- 
cies which  we  met  with  first  off  Cape  St.  Vincent,  and  a  small 
Unibellularia ;  and  on  the  12th  we  had  two  fairly  successful 
hauls  in  1200  fathoms.  Our  coal  was  now  almost  entirely  ex- 
pended, so  the  engines  were  stopped,  and  on  the  13th  we  crept 
along  toward  Bahia  under  all  plain  sail. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  September  we  were  steaming 
along  the  Brazilian  coast  toward  the  entrance  of  the  magnifi- 
cent Bahia  de  Todos  os  Santos.  All  day  a  pretty  little  but- 
terfly of  the  delicately  formed  genus  Heliconia  was  fluttering 
in  multitudes  over  the  ship,  and  over  the  sea  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  they  quivered  in  the  air  like  withered  leaves. 
Their  number  must  have  been  incalculable ;  looking  up  into  the 


122 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  III. 


sky  where  they  were  thickest,  they  were  as  close  together  as, 
and  had  much  the  appearance  and  style  of  motion  of,  the  large 
flakes  of  snow  in  a  heavy  snow-shower  when  a  thaw  is  setting 
in.  Such  showers  of  butterflies  are  by  no  means  uncommon 
along  the  coast  of  Brazil,  nor  are  they  confined  to  the  Helieo- 
nidse,  although  these,  from  their  extreme  lightness  of  build,  seem 
best  to  fulfill  the  required  conditions.  Sometimes  the  country 
over  a  considerable  area  is  absolutely  devastated  by  some  par- 
ticular species  of  caterpillar.  The  butterflies  or  moths,  as  the 
case  may  be,  come  out  nearly  at  one  time ;  and  the  swarm  of 
insects  are  caught  by  the  land-breeze  and  wafted  out  to  sea, 
where  myriads  are  drowned,  a  remnant  being,  perhaps,  floated 
back  again  by  the  usual  shift  of  wind  in  the  evening. 

The  entrance  to  Bahia  is  certainly  very  beautiful.  We 
passed  in  the  forenoon  along  an  elevated  coast,  not  mountain- 
ous or  hilly,  but  rising  from  the  shore  in  even  terraces  to  the 
height  of  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  the  terraces  broken  here 
and  there  by  ravines  and  wooded  knolls,  every  space  gloriously 
clothed  with  vegetation,  and  the  sky-line  broken  by  long  lines 
of  palm-trees.  To  the  right  of  the  town,  as  we  neared  the 
anchorage,  a  long  suburb  of  handsome  houses  ran  along  the 
crest  of  the  rise.  The  theatre  is  a  prominent  building  in  the 
middle  of  the  town,  and  a  little  above  it  and  to  the  right  is  a 
handsome  church  —  one  with  which  we  were  afterward  very 
familiar  as  an  excellent  observing  station. 

The  general  effect  of  the  town  from  the  sea  reminds  one 
somewhat  of  Lisbon,  but  Bahia  is  much  finer ;  the  splendid  lux- 
uriance of  the  vegetation  gives  it  a  character  of  its  own,  and 
certainly  nothing  approaches  the  palm  in  lightening  and  giving 
grace  to  a  picture. 

During  our  stay  at  Bahia,  Captain  Maclear  and  I  went  in  one 
of  the  little  coasting  steamers  to  Caxoeira,  a  small  town  at  a 
few  hours'  distance  up  a  river,  to  get  some  idea  of  the  general 
appearance  of  the  country.   We  wTere  very  fortunate  in  meeting 


CHAP.  III.] 


BARIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


123 


on  board  the  steamer  Mr.  Hugh  Wilson,  a  countryman  of  our 
own  and  a  leading  engineer  at  Bahia,  who  was  at  the  time  car- 
rying out  some  railway  operations  at  Caxoeira.  He  had  an  es- 
tablishment in  the  town,  with  clerks  and  draughtsmen  at  work ; 
there  he  kindly  put  us  up,  and  we  rode  out  with  him  to  see  the 
railway  works.  The  town  is  on  a  river  between  two  low  mount- 
ain ridges,  and  the  railway  winds  along  the  flank  of  one  of  these. 
The  country  is  excessively  rough,  with  no  regular  roads,  and  it 
was  at  first  rather  nervous  work  riding  up  and  down  places 
which  no  civilized  horses  would  have  dreamed  of  attempting. 
Mr.  "Wilson  was  accustomed  to  it,  however,  and  led  the  way  with 
the  utmost  confidence,  and  we  soon  learned  to  place  complete 
trust  in  the  intelligence  of  the  handsome  black  entire  horses, 
which  seemed  to  be  strong  enough  for  any  thing,  and  to  know 
perfectly  what  they  were  about,  often  absolutely  refusing  to 
take  the  path  indicated  to  them,  and  choosing  one  which  to  our 
less  instructed  eyes  appeared  ten  times  more  difficult.  In  our 
ride  we  crossed  here  and  there  steep  tracks  winding  through 
ravines  among  the  mountains,  and  at  intervals  an  extraordinary 
amount  of  noise — men  shouting  and  cracking  their  long  bullock 
whips,  cattle  struggling  and  scrambling  among  the  loose  bowl- 
ders, and,  above  all,  the  shrill  creaking  of  wheels — announced 
the  approach  of  one  of  the  huge  drays,  dragged  by  ten  or  twelve 
pairs  of  bullocks,  carrying  supplies  to  or  produce  from  the  inte- 
rior. The  ponderous  affair  comes  creaking  and  groaning  up  to 
the  bottom  of  what  looks  like,  and  I  suppose  is,  the  dry  bed  of 
a  torrent,  and  one  can  not  at  first  imagine  that  they  can  mean  to 
attempt  to  go  up.  After  a  spell  of  a  few  minutes,  however,  they 
go  at  it,  the  men  shouting  and  lashing,  and  every  now  and  then 
putting  their  shoulders  to  the  great  solid,  spokeless  wheels ;  and, 
to  your  surprise,  you  find  that  they  are  making  a  little  way. 
One  leader  of  a  team  whom  we  spoke  to  had  a  very  confident 
expectation,  in  spite  of  appearances,  of  getting  to  his  destination, 
somewhere  a  good  way  up  country,  in  rather  less  than  a  week. 


124  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  hi. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  obliged  to  be  next  day  at  Santo  Amaro,  a  lit- 
tle town  about  thirty  miles  distant,  across  one  of  the  ridges,  on 
another  river  where  he  had  a  line  of  steamers  plying,  and  he 
asked  us  to  ride  there  with  him ;  so  we  went  back  to  his  house 
and  dined,  and  spent  the  evening  at  his  window  inhaling  the 
soft,  flower-perfumed  air,  and  gazing  at  the  stars  twinkling  in 
their  crystal  dome  of  the  deepest  blue,  and  their  travesties  in 
a  galaxy  of  fire-flies  glittering  and  dancing  over  the  flowers  in 
the  garden  beneath  us.  It  was  late  when  we  tossed  ourselves 
down  to  take  a  short  sleep,  for  two  o'clock  was  the  hour  fixed 
to  be  in  the  saddle  in  the  morning.  We  rode  out  of  the  town 
in  the  starlight — Mr.  Wilson,  Captain  Maclear,  and  myself,  with 
a  native  guide,  on  a  fast  mule.  We  were  now  obliged  to  trust 
entirely  to  the  instinct  of  our  horses ;  for  if  a  path  were  visible 
in  the  daylight,  there  was  certainly  none  in  the  dark,  and  we 
scrambled  for  a  couple  of  hours  right  up  the  side  of  the  ridge. 
When  we  reached  the  top,  we  came  out  upon  flat,  open  ground 
with  a  little  cultivation,  bounded  in  front  of  us  by  the  dark  line 
of  dense  forest.  The  night  was  almost  absolutely  silent ;  only 
now  and  then  a  peculiar  shrill  cry  of  some  night-bird  reached 
us  from  the  woods.  As  we  got  into  the  skirt  of  the  forest,  the 
morning  broke ;  but  the  reveil  in  a  Brazilian  forest  is  won- 
derfully different  from  the  slow  creeping-on  of  the  dawn  of  a 
summer  morning  at  home,  to  the  music  of  the  thmshes  answer- 
ing one  another's  full  rich  notes  from  neighboring  thorn-trees. 
Suddenly  a  yellow  light  spreads  upward  in  the  east,  the  stars 
quickly  fade,  and  the  dark  fringes  of  the  forest  and  the  tall 
palms  show  out  black  against  the  yellow  sky,  and,  almost  before 
one  has  time  to  observe  the  change,  the  sun  has  risen,  straight 
and  fierce,  and  the  whole  landscape  is  bathed  in  the  full  light 
of  day.  But  the  morning  is  for  yet  another  hour  cool  and 
fresh,  and  the  scene  is  indescribably  beautiful.  The  woods,  so 
absolutely  silent  and  still  before,  break  at  once  into  noise  and 
movement.    Flocks  of  toucans  flutter  and  scream  on  the  tops 


Barometer 


Plate  XXVI.  Meteorological  Obser 
Bit  Mil)  Thermometer   , 


at 


IE  The,  arrows  izubbcctte/  tJv&  dzrtx&LOTis  of*tAe<  wistd/,  ancb  tht 
Z       3       4       5       6       7       8       3       SO      II       12      13      14  15 


1111 


III 


55: 


Si 


0 


-A 


T- 


= 


H- 


-4- 

28 

-9- 

. 

4- 

^3- 

2 

D 

4- 

F 

E 

R 

r 

si 

i> 

! 

Q 

H 

D 

IN 

II 

L 

tionsfor  the  month  of  September,  1873. 


Bulb  Thermometer 


Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


17  _    18  ^  ^  19  <    ZQ  _   21    i    ZZ  ,   23  ^   ZA-  _   2b ^  |  36      87  r_tjS_|_^H   30  <  _ 


* 


m 


- 


^3 


i 


- 


- 


4 

* 

\ 

1 

)l 

• 

1 

5 

• 

chap.  in.  j 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


125 


of  the  highest  forest  trees  hopelessly  out  of  shot ;  the  ear  is 
pierced  by  the  strange,  wild  screeches  of  a  little  band  of  macaws 
which  fly  past  you  like  the  rapped-up  ghosts  of  the  birds  on 
some  gaudy  old  brocade.  There  is  no  warbling,  no  song,  only 
harsh  noises  —  abrupt  calls  which  those  who  haunt  the  forest 
soon  learn  to  translate  by  two  or  three  familiar  words  in  Portu- 
guese or  English.  Now  and  then  a  set  of  cries  more  varied  and 
dissonant  than  usual  tell  us  that  a  troop  of  monkeys  are  passing 
across  from  tree  to  tree  among  the  higher  branches ;  and  lower 
sounds,  to  which  one's  attention  is  called  by  the  guide,  indicate 
to  his  practiced  ear  the  neighborhood  of  a  sloth  or  some  other 
of  the  few  mammals  which  inhabit  the  forests  of  Brazil.  And 
the  insects  are  now  all  awake,  and  add  their  various  notes  to 
swell  the  general  din.  A  butterfly  of  the  gorgeous  genus  Mor- 
pho  comes  fluttering  along  the  path  like  a  loosely  folded  sheet 
of  intensely  blue  tinsel,  flashing  brilliant  reflections  in  the  sun ; 
great  dark -blue  shining  bees  fly  past  with  a  loud  hum;  tree- 
bugs  of  a  splendid  metallic  lustre,  and  in  the  most  extraordinary 
harlequin  coloring  of  scarlet  and  blue  and  yellow,  cluster  round 
a  branch  so  thickly  as  to  weigh  it  down,  and  make  their  pres- 
ence perceptible  yards  off  by  their  peculiar  and  sometimes  not 
unpleasant  odor.  But  how  weak  it  is  to  say  that  that  exquisite 
little  being,  whirring  and  fluttering  in  the  air  over  that  branch 
of  Bignonia  bells,  and  sucking  the  nectar  from  them  with  its 
long  curved  bill,  has  a  head  of  ruby,  and  a  throat  of  emerald, 
and  wings  of  sapphire — as  if  any  triumph  of  the  jeweler's  art 
could  ever  vie  in  brilliancy  with  that  sparkling  epitome  of  life 
and  light ! 

It  was  broad  day  when  we  passed  into  the  dense  forest 
through  which  the  greater  part  of  the  way  now  lay.  The  path, 
which  had  been  cut  through  the  vegetation,  was  just  wide 
enough  for  us  to  ride  in  Indian  flle  and  with  some  care  to  pre- 
vent our  horses  from  bruising  our  legs  against  the  tree-trunks, 
and  we  could  not  leave  the  path  for  a  single  foot  on  either  side, 

II.— 9 


126 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  hi. 


the  scrub  was  so  thick,  what  with  fallen  tree-trunks,  covered 
with  epiphytes  of  all  descriptions,  and  cycads,  and  arums,  and 
great  thorny  spikes  of  Bromelia,  and  a  dense  undergrowth, 
principally  of  melastomads,  many  of  them  richly  covered  with 
blue  and  purple  flowers.  Above  the  undergrowth,  the  tall 
forest  trees  ran  up,  straight  and  branchless,  for  thirty  or  forty 
feet ;  and  when  they  began  to  branch,  a  second  tier  of  vegeta- 
tion spread  over  our  heads,  almost  shutting  out  the  sky.  Great 
climbing  Monsteras  and  other  arals,  and  epiphytic  bromeliads, 
and  orchids,  some  of  them  distilling  from  their  long  trusses  of 
lovely  flowers  a  fragrance  which  was  almost  overpowering,  and 
mazes  of  Tillandsia  hanging  down  like  tangled  hanks  of  gray 
twine.  Every  available  space  between  the  trees  was  occupied 
by  lianas  twining  together  or  running  up  singly,  in  size  varying 
from  a  whip-cord  to  a  foot  in  diameter.  These  lianas  were  our 
chief  danger,  for  they  hung  down  in  long  loops  from  the  trees 
and  lay  upon  the  ground,  and  were  apt  to  entangle  us  and 
catch  the  horses'  feet  as  we  rode  on.  As  time  wore  on,  it  got 
very  close  and  hot,  and  the  forest  relapsed  into  silence,  most  of 
the  creatures  retiring  for  their  noonday  siesta.  The  false  roof 
of  epiphytes  and  parasites  kept  off  the  glare  of  the  sun,  and 
it  was  only  at  intervals  that  a  sheaf  of  vertical  beams  struck 
through  a  rift  in  the  green  canopy,  and  afforded  us  a  passing 
glimpse  of  the  tops  of  the  forest  trees,  uniting  in  a  delicate 
open  tracery  far  above  us. 

For  some  hours  our  brave  little  horses  struggled  on,  some- 
times cantering  a  little  where  the  path  was  pretty  clear,  and 
more  usually  picking  their  way  carefully,  and  sometimes,  with 
all  their  care,  floundering  into  the  mud -holes  imperfectly 
bridged  over  with  trunks  of  trees. 

As  we  had  made  our  ascent  at  first,  all  this  time  we  had  been 
riding  nearly  on  a  level  on  the  plateau  between  the  two  river 
valleys.  Suddenly  the  wood  opened,  and  we  rode  up  to  the 
edge  of  a  long,  irregular  cliff  bounding  the  valley  of  Santo 


chap,  in.]  BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE.  127 

Amaro.  The  path  ran  right  up  to  the  edge,  and  seemed  to 
come  to  an  end  but  for  a  kind  of  irregular  crack,  full  of  loose 
stones  which  went  zigzagging  down  to  the  bottom  at  an  angle 
of  about  70°,  and  we  could  see  the  path  down  below  winding 
away  in  the  distance  toward  the  main  road  to  Santo  Amaro. 
We  looked  over  this  cliff,  and  told  Mr.  Wilson  firmly  that  we 
would  not  go  down  the  side  of  that  wall  on  horseback.  He 
laughed,  and  said  that  the  horses  would  take  us  down  well 
enough,  and  that  he  had  seen  it  done,  but  that  it  was  perhaps 
a  little  too  much :  so  we  all  dismounted,  and  put  the  horses' 
bridles  round  the  backs  of  the  saddles,  and  led  them  to  the  top 
of  the  crack,  and  whipped  them  ujd  as  they  do  performing 
horses  in  a  circus.  They  looked  over  with  a  little  apparent 
uneasiness,  but  I  suspect  they  had  made  that  precarious  descent 
before,  and  they  soon  began  to  pick  their  way  cautiously  down, 
one  after  the  other,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  saw  them  waiting 
for  us  quietly  at  the  bottom.  We  then  scrambled  down  as  best 
we  might,  and  it  was  not  till  we  had  reached  the  bottom,  using 
freely  all  the  natural  advantages  which  the  Primates  have  over 
the  /Solid unguli  under  such  circumstances,  that  we  fully  appre- 
ciated the  feat  which  our  horses  had  performed. 

The  next  part  of  the  road  was  a  trial :  the  horses  were  often 
up  nearly  to  the  girths  in  stiff  clay,  but  we  got  through  it 
somehow,  and  reached  Santo  Amaro  in  time  to  catch  the  regu- 
lar steamer  to  Bahia. 

At  Santo  Amaro  a  line  of  tram-ways  had  lately  been  laid 
down,  also  under  the  auspices  of  our  enterprising  friend,  and 
we  went  down  to  the  steamboat  wharves  on  one  of  the  trucks  on 
a  kind  of  trial  trip.  The  wagon  went  smoothly  and  well ;  but 
when  a  new  system  is  started,  there  is  always  a  risk  of  accidents. 
As  the  truck  ran  quickly  down  the  incline,  the  swarthy  young 
barbarians,  attracted  by  the  novelty,  crowded  round  it,  and  sud- 
denly the  agonized  cries  of  a  child,  followed  by  low  moanings, 
rang  out  from  under  the  wheels,  and  a  jerk  of  the  drag  pulled 


128 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


the  car  up,  and  nearly  threw  us  out  of  our  seats.  We  jumped 
out,  and  looked  nervously  under  the  wheels  to  see  what  had 
happened ;  but  there  was  no  child  there.  The  young  barbari- 
ans looked  at  us  vaguely  and  curiously,  but  not  as  if  any  thing 
tragical  had  occurred ;  and  we  were  just  getting  into  the  car 
again,  feeling  a  little  bewildered,  when  a  great  green  parrot  in 
a  cage  close  beside  us  went  through,  no  doubt,  another  of  his 
best  performances  in  the  shape  of  a  loud  mocking  laugh.  A 
wave  of  relief  passed  over  the  party,  but  we  were  rather  late, 
and  the  drivers  expressed  to  the  parrot  their  sense  of  his  con- 
duct, I  fear  strongly,  but  in  terms  which,  being  in  Brazilian 
patois,  I  did  not  understand. 

We  passed  quietly  down  the  river,  with  the  usual  mangrove 
swamps  and  their  rising  background  of  forest  fringed  with 
palms.  When  we  got  outside,  we  found  that  the  wind  had 
risen,  and  there  was  a  heavy  sea  in  the  bay.  The  steamer  was 
cranky,  and  there  was  something  adrift  with  her  engines,  so  we 
got  a  good  wetting  before  we  reached  the  Challenger  about 
sunset. 

During  our  stay  in  Bahia  the  steam  pinnace  was  out  almost 
daily,  dredging  in  the  shallow  water,  7  to  20  fathoms  in  the 
bay.  The  fauna  was  wonderfully  rich,  every  haul  of  the 
dredge  bringing  up  large  numbers  of  fine  tropical  shore  forms. 
The  Echinoderms  were  perhaps  the  most  striking  from  the 
abundance  of  one  or  two  large  species  of  Euryale  and  Antedon. 
A  fine  calcareous  sponge  of  unusual  size  was  very  common ;  a 
cylindrical  stem  two  to  three  inches  high  supported  a  round 
button-shaped  head  like  an  unexpanded  mushroom ;  the  regu- 
lar ladder-like  arrangement  of  the  spicules  in  the  stem  of  this 
species  is  particularly  beautiful. 

We  remained  a  fortnight  in  Bahia,  and  enjoyed  our  stay 
greatly :  all  the  conditions  were  so  new  to  us  and  so  character- 
istic. Our  friend,  Mr.  Hugh  Wilson,  who  was  one  of  the  lead- 
ing English  residents  in  Bahia,  and  evidently  a  man  of  great 


Plate  XXVII.  The  Track  of  the  Ship  from  San 


Salvador  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


129 


energy,  took  us  in  charge,  and  very  shortly  an  entente  Cordiale 
was  established  between  our  men  and  the  young  folks  on  shore ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  broiling  heat,  cricketing  during  the 
day  and  dancing  at  night  sped  the  time  along. 

The  American  frigate  Lancaster  arrived  on  the  16th,  bear- 
ing the  nag  of  Hear- Admiral  Taylor,  and  the  two  crews  frater- 
nized as  usual.  A  play  had  been  arranged  for  our  men  on 
board  the  American  ship,  and  invitations  had  been  issued  by 
the  "English  Cricketers"  to  a  ball,  when  we  were  suddenly 
palled  up  by  one  of  our  leave-men  returning  on  board  with  yel- 
low fever.  He  was  at  once  removed  to  hospital  on  shore,  but 
the  shadow  of  this  fell  scourge  having  once  fallen  over  us,  no 
further  dalliance  nor  delay  was  possible.  Leave  was  stopped, 
and  as  soon  as  the  final  arrangements  could  be  made  we  weighed 
anchor  and  ran  southward.  The  poor  fellow  died  in  hospital  a 
few  days  after  our  departure. 

Immediately  outside  the  bay  we  got  into  fine  fresh  weather. 
No  second  case  appeared,  and  although  one  or  two  cases  of  sim- 
ple fever  which  followed  kept  up  our  anxiety  for  a  week  or 
two,  long  before  we  reached  the  breezy  latitudes  of  Tristan 
d' Acunha  the  ship  was  as  healthy  as  ever,  and  all  cause  of  alarm 
was  past. 

On  the  26th  of  September  we  swung  ship  for  the  errors  of 
the  compasses,  and  for  the  next  three  days  we  continued  our 
course  a  little  to  the  east  of  south  under  all  plain  sail.  We 
sounded  on  the  30th,  lat.  20°  13'  S.,  long.  35°  19'  W.,  in  2150 
fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  reddish  mud,  and  a  bottom  temper- 
ature of  0°-6  C.  An  attempt  was  made  to  dredge,  but  the 
dredge-rope  carried  away.  A  serial  temperature  sounding  was 
taken  at  intervals  of  100  fathoms  down  to  1500  (Fig.  32). 

On  the  2d  of  October  we  saw  our  first  albatross,  sailing  round 
the  ship  with  that  majestic,  careless  flight  which  has  been  our 
admiration  and  wonder  ever  since,  rising  and  sinking,  and  soar- 
ing over  us  in  all  weathers,  utterly  regardless  of  the  motion  of 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


the  ship,  and  without  the  slightest  ap- 
parent effort.  I  have  often  watched 
these  glorious  birds  for  hours  from 
the  bridge,  and,  notwithstanding  all 
we  know,  or  think  we  know,  about 
the  mechanics  of  flight,  to  the  last  I 
felt  inclined  to  protest  that  for  so 
heavy  a  bird  to  support  itself  motion- 
less in  the  air,  and  perform  its  vigor- 
ous evolutions  without  a  perceptible 
movement  of  the  wings,  was  simply 
impossible  by  any  mechanical  means 
of  which  we  have  the  least  conception. 

We  sounded  on  the  3d  in  2350 
fathoms  with  a  bottom  of  red  mud, 
still  due  apparently  in  a  great  de- 
gree to  the  South  American  rivers, 
and  a  bottom  temperature  of  0°*8  C. 
The  trawl  was  lowered,  and  on  heav- 
ing in,  it  came  up  apparently  wTith  a 
heavy  weight,  the  accumulators  being 
stretched  to  the  utmost.  It  was  a 
long  and  weary  wind -in,  on  account 
of  the  continued  strain.  At  length 
it  came  close  to  the  surface,  and  we 
could  see  the  distended  net  through 
the  water;  when,  just  as  it  was  leav- 
ing the  water,  and  so  greatly  increas- 
ing its  weight,  the  swivel  between  the 
dredge-rope  and  the  chain  gave  way, 
and  the  trawl  with  its  unknown  bur- 
den quietly  sunk  out  of  sight.  It  was 
a  cruel  disappointment.  Every  one 
was  on  the  bridge,  and  curiosity  was 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


131 


wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch  :  some  vowed  that  they  saw  rest- 
ing on  the  beam  of  the  vanishing  trawl  the  white  hand  of  the 
mermaiden  for  whom  we  had  watched  so  long  in  vain ;  but  I 
think  it  is  more  likely  that  the  trawl  had  got  bagged  with  the 
large  sea-slugs  which  occur  in  some  of  these  deep  dredgings  in 
large  quantity,  and  have  more  than  once  burst  the  trawl  net. 

At  6.45  p.m.  we  made  all  plain  sail,  and  shaped  our  course  to 
the  south-east. 

We  sounded  and  trawled  on  the  6th  in  2275  fathoms,  with  a 
muddy  bottom  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  0o,7  C,  and  ob- 
tained a  series  of  temperature  soundings  at  intervals  of  100 
fathoms  down  to  1000.  The  trawl  came  up  nearly  empty,  con- 
taining only  an  ear-bone  of  a  whale  with  one  or  two  hydroid 
zoophytes  attached  to  it,  and  a  few  pebbles  of  pumice,  one  hav- 
ing on  it  a  large  flask-shaped  foraminifer  or  other  allied  rhizo- 
pod,  living. 

The  depth  on  the  10th  was  2050  fathoms,  the  bottom  an  im- 
pure globigerina  ooze,  and  the  bottom  temperature  1°#1  C.  We 
were,  therefore,  beginning  the  ascent  of  the  western  flank  of  the 
great  central  elevation  of  the  Atlantic.  The  temperature  de- 
terminations had  throughout  the  whole  of  this  section  been  of 
the  greatest  interest ;  the  lowest  temperatures  which  we  had 
met  with  previously  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fernando 
Noronha,  nearly  under  the  equator  (-f-0o,2  C.) ;  we  were  moral- 
ly certain  that  this  cold  water  welled  up  from  the  Antarctic  Sea 
in  the  western  trough  of  the  Atlantic,  and  we  fully  expected  to 
intersect  the  line  of  the  supply.  In  this,  however,  we  were  dis- 
appointed. We  met  with  no  temperature  so  low  as  the  lowest 
temperature  under  the  equator  (-f0o*2  C.) ;  and  it  was  only 
three  years  afterward,  on  our  northward  voyage,  that  we  struck 
the  main  body  of  the  cold  indraught. 

On  the  11th  we  sounded  in  1900  fathoms  with  a  bottom  of 
globigerina  ooze  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  1°*3  C,  and  put 
over  the  trawl,  and  during  its  absence  took  a  series  of  shallow 


132 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  III. 


temperature  soundings  at  intervals  of  25  fathoms  down  to  100. 
The  trawling  was  comparatively  successful  at  this  station,  most 
of  the  invertebrate  groups  being  more  or  less  represented.  Sev- 
eral living  specimens  were  procured  of  a  pretty  little  coral,  Fun- 
gia  symmetrica  (Fig.  33),  allied  generically  to  the  mushroom 


Fig.  33.—  Fungia  symmetrica,  Pouktales.   Three  times  the  natural  size.   (No.  133.) 

corals  so  abundant  in  shallow  water  on  coral  reefs,  and  in  mis- 
cellaneous natural-history  collections.  Fungia  symmetrica  was 
first  described  by  Count  Pourtales,  from  deep  water  350  to  450 
fathoms  in  the  Strait  of  Florida.  The  corallum  is  circular, 
plano-convex ;  the  wall  is  perfectly  plane  and  very  little  perfo- 


5\ 


PLATE  XXVIII. — DIAGRAM  OF  THE 


3RATURE  BETWEEN  SAN  SALVADOR  AND  THE  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE. 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


133 


rated,  with  a  small  convex  umbilicus  in  the  centre.  The  costse, 
which  correspond  with  the  septa,  are  distinct  to  the  centre,  finely 
spinous  and  granulated,  subequal,  the  primaries  and  seconda- 
ries slightly  the  larger.  The  septa  are  subequal,  spinous,  the 
larger  slightly  lobed ;  in  six  regular  systems  and  four  complete 
cycles.  The  septa  of  the  fourth  cycle  are  connected  by  their 
inner  edge  with  those  of  the  third,  and  the  latter  with  those  of 
the  second ;  the  points  of  connection  are  sometimes  expanded 
into  a  plate ;  the  primary  septa  reach  the  centre  without  any 
connection.  The  columella  is  rudimentary,  sometimes  covered 
with  a  calcified  membranous  expansion  through  which  some  of 
the  spines  project.  The  synapticula  are  large,  and  correspond 
to  one  another  in  the  contiguous  chambers  so  as  to  form  four 
to  six  more  or  less  regular  concentric  circles. 

This  species  has  been  proved  by  our  dredgings  to  be  one  of 
the  most  constantly  recurring  of  deep-sea  animals,  with  a  world- 
wide distribution.  It  has  been  dredged  by  us  fifteen  times ;  it 
occurred  in  the  North  and  South  Atlantic,  near  the  ice-barrier 
in  the  Southern  Sea,  off  the  West  Indies,  in  the  North  and 
South  Pacific  Oceans,  and  among  the  Moluccas.  It  has  a  more 
extended  range  in  depth  than  almost  any  other  animal,  having 
been  obtained  by  us  in  30  fathoms  off  Bermudas,  and  at  all  in- 
termediate depths  down  to  2900  fathoms.  Specimens  from 
2900  fathoms  were  obtained  with  the  soft  parts  preserved ;  and 
specimens  from  2300  fathoms,  of  which  thirty  or  more  were 
obtained  at  one  haul,  were  full  of  ripe  ova.  Fungia  symmet- 
rica is  the  only  coral  which  has  yet  been  obtained  from  a 
depth  greater  than  1600  fathoms;  it  occurs  on  all  kinds  of 
bottoms — on  globigerina  ooze  in  the  Atlantic,  among  growing 
branched  corals  (Madracis  asperula)  off  Bermudas,  on  a  bot- 
tom composed  almost  entirely  of  the  frustules  of  diatoms  in 
the  Southern  Sea,  and  on  red  clay  with  manganese  nodules  in 
the  North  Pacific.  It  sustains  a  range  of  temperature  from  1° 
to  20°  C. 


134 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  hi. 


The  specimens  from  great  depths  are  much  larger  than  those 
from  shallow  water,  and  are  much  more  delicate  and  fragile. 
The  largest  specimens  procured  by  Count  Pourtales  measured 
one  centim.  in  diameter;  our  largest  specimens  were  three 
centims.  in  diameter,  and  those  from  deep  water  in  the  North 
Pacific  averaged  two  centims.  The  specimens  from  the  dia- 
tom ooze  bottom,  though  large,  were  evidently  growing  under 
circumstances  unfavorable  to  the  formation  of  a  corallum,  the 
bottom  being  almost  entirely  siliceous,  and  only  containing  a 
trace  of  lime  ;  their  coralla  were  so  fragile  that  they  broke 
with  the  slightest  touch.  From  an  examination  of  the  long 
series  of  this  coral  obtained  by  us,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt 
of  their  belonging  to  one  species,  and  certain  series  obtained 
near  Bermudas  and  the  West  Indies  are  certainly  identical  with 
the  Fungia  symmetrica  of  Pourtales,  although  some  of  the 
larger  specimens  seem  to  show  close  affinities  with  the  Lopho- 
serinse. 

On  Tuesday,  the  14th  of  October,  we  sighted  the  island  of 
Tristan,  distant  fifty  miles  to  the  south-south- west. 

The  Tristan  d'Acunha  group,  so  named  from  the  Portuguese 
navigator  who  discovered  it  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  lies 
in  mid-ocean,  about  thirteen  hundred  miles  south  of  St.  Helena 
and  fifteen  hundred  west  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  nearly  on 
a  line  between  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Cape  Horn  ;  it  is 
thus  probably  the  most  isolated  and  remote  of  all  the  abodes  of 
men.  The  group  consists  of  the  larger  island  of  Tristan  and 
two  smaller  islands — Inaccessible,  about  eighteen  miles  south- 
west from  Tristan,  and  Nightingale  Island,  twenty  miles  south 
of  the  main  island.  Tristan  only  is  permanently  inhabited  ;  the 
other  two  are  visited  from  time  to  time  by  sealers.  We  hear 
little  of  Tristan  d' Acunha  until  near  the  close  of  last  century ; 
but  even  before  that  time  it  appears  to  have  been  the  occa- 
sional resort  of  American  sealers.  Captain  Patten,  of  the  ship 
Industry,  from  Philadelphia,  arrived  there  in  August,  1790,  and 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  TEE  CAPE. 


135 


remained  till  April,  1791.  There  was  then  abundance  of  wood 
of  small  growth,  excellent  for  lire-wood,  where  the  tents  of  the 
Industry's  crew  were  pitched,  near  the  site  of  the  present  set- 
tlement; and  the  amount  of  sea-animals  of  all  kinds — whales, 
seals,  and  sea-birds — was  unlimited.  Captain  Patten's  party 
obtained  5600  seal-skins  in  the  seven  months  of  their  stay,  and 
he  says  that  they  could  have  loaded  a  ship  with  oil  in  three 
weeks.  In  1T92  the  Lion  and  the  Hindostan,  with  the  British 
embassy  to  China  on  board,  touched  at  the  island  of  Tristan. 
The  Lion  anchored  off  the  north  side  of  the  island,  under  the 
cliff,  but  a  sudden  squall  coming  on,  she  almost  immediately 
put  to  sea.  The  island  was  at  that  time  entirely  uninhabited  ; 
whales  and  seals  were  seen  in  great  numbers  on  the  coast.  In 
1811  Captain  Hey  wood  found  three  Americans  settled  on  Tris- 
tan preparing  seal-skins  and  oil.  Groats  and  pigs  had  been  set 
adrift  by  some  of  the  earlier  visitors,  and  they  had  become  very 
numerous  on  the  upper  terraces.  One  of  the  Americans  de- 
clared himself  sovereign  proprietor  of  the  islands,  and  in  the 
intervals  of  seal-hunting  they  cleared  about  fifty  acres  of  land, 
and  planted  it  with  various  things,  including  coffee -trees  and 
sugar  -  canes,  which  they  got  through  the  American  consul  at 
Rio.  It  seems  that  for  a  time  some  of  their  crops  looked  very 
promising,  but  for  some  reason  the  settlement  was  shortly 
abandoned.  Formal  possession  was  taken  of  the  islands  by 
the  English  in  1817,  and  during  Napoleon's  captivity  at  St. 
Helena  a  guard  detached  from  the  British  troops  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  was  maintained  there.  Batteries  were  thrown 
up  and  a  few  houses  built,  but  in  little  more  than  a  year  the 
soldiers  were  withdrawn.  A  corporal  of  artillery  of  the  name 
of  Glass,  with  his  wife  and  two  soldiers  who  were  induced  to 
join  him,  were  allowed  to  remain  ;  and  since  that  time  the  isl- 
and of  Tristan  has  been  constantly  inhabited.  In  1823  the  set- 
tlers were  seventeen  in  number,  among  them  three  women,  and 
they  had  to  dispose  of  twenty-five  tons  of  potatoes,  and  abun- 


136 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


dance  of  vegetables,  milk,  and  butter.  In  1829,  when  Captain 
Morrell  visited  it  in  the  United  States  ship  Antarctic,  the  col- 
ony included  twenty-seven  families,  and  they  were  able  to  sup- 
ply passing  ships  with  bullocks,  cows,  sheep,  and  pigs,  and  fresh 
vegetables  and  milk  in  any  quantity.  In  1836  there  was  a 
population  of  forty-two  on  the  island ;  and  in  1852,  when  Cap- 
tain Denham  visited  and  sketched  and  roughly  surveyed  the 
group,  it  amounted  to  eighty-five,  and  he  describes  "  the  young 
men  and  women  as  partaking  of  the  mulatto  caste,  the  wives  of 
the  first  settlers  being  natives  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and 
St.  Helena ;  but  the  children  of  the  second  generation  he  would 
term  handsome  brunettes  of  a  strikingly  fine  figure."  They 
were  all,  at  that  time,  members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Taylor,  who  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
an  unknown  benefactor  having  generously  placed  one  thousand 
pounds  at  the  disposal  of  the  society,  to  supply  the  colony  with 
a  clergyman  for  five  years.  Captain  Denham  speaks  highly  of 
the  healthiness  of  the  climate ;  he  says  that  none  of  the  ordi- 
nary epidemic  diseases,  whether  of  adults  or  of  children,  had 
reached  the  islands.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  left  in  1857,  in 
H.M.S.  Geyser,  and  with  him  forty -seven  of  the  inhabitants 
left  the  island  and  went  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  con- 
dition and  prospects  of  the  settlement  had  somewhat  altered. 
In  its  early  days  fur-seals  with  pelts  of  good  quality,  inferior 
only  to  those  from  some  of  the  Antarctic  islands,  were  very 
abundant,  and  vessels  could  fill  up  at  short  notice  with  oil ;  it 
was  therefore  a  favorite  rendezvous  for  American  sealers,  and 
the  islanders  got  a  ready  market  and  good  prices  for  their  prod- 
uce. Gradually,  however,  the  great  sea  beasts  were  reduced 
in  number,  the  sealers  and  whalers  had  to  pursue  their  craft 
farther  afield,  and  Tristan  d'Acunha  became  only  an  occasional 
place  of  call.  Another  unfavorable  change  had  taken  place  ; 
in  the  early  days  the  great  majority  of  the  population  were 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


137 


males,  but  as  time  wore  on  and  a  new  generation  sprung  up,  the 
young  men,  scions  of  an  adventurous  stock  and  reared  in  tem- 
perance and  hardihood,  found  their  isolated  life  too  tame  for 
them,  and  sought  more  stirring  occupation  elsewhere.  The 
proportion  between  the  sexes  rapidly  altered,  and  at  the  time 
of  Captain  Denham's  visit  women  were  considerably  in  the 
majority.  The  greater  number  of  those  who  left  Tristan  in 
the  Geyser  were  young  women,  and  many  of  them  went  into 
service  at  the  Cape,  where  there  still  remained  some  of  the 
relations  of  the  earlier  settlers. 

All  this  time  the  settlement  maintained  an  excellent  char- 
acter. Glass,  its  founder,  a  Scotchman  born  at  Kelso,  seems  to 
have  been  a  man  of  principle,  and  of  great  energy  and  industry, 
and  to  have  acquired  to  a  remarkable  degree  the  confidence  of 
the  community.  He  maintained  his  position  as  its  leader,  and 
represented  it  in  all  transactions  with  outsiders  for  thirty-seven 
years.  The  colony  had  always  been  English-speaking,  and  had 
strong  British  sympathies;  and  "Governor  Glass,"  as  he  was 
called,  had  received  permission  from  one  of  the  naval  officers 
visiting  the  island  to  hoist  the  red  ensign  as  a  signal  to  ships. 
This  was  the  only  quasi-official  recognition  which  the  colony 
received  from  Britain  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  in 
1818.  Glass  died  in  1853,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  He 
had  suffered  severely  during  his  later  years  from  cancer  in  the 
lower  lip  and  chin,  but  he  retained  his  faculties  and  his  prestige 
to  the  last,  and  his  death  was  a  great  loss  to  the  little  commu- 
nity. A  general  account  of  Tristan  d'Acunha  is  given  by  the 
Rev.  W.  F.  Taylor,  in  a  pamphlet  published  in  1850  by  the 
Christian  Knowledge  Society.  Mr.  Taylor  speaks  most  highly 
of  the  moral  character  of  the  flock  to  whom  he  ministered  for 
five  years ;  indeed,  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  he  could  find 
no  vice  to  contend  with,  which  is  certainly  extraordinary  in  so 
mixed  an  assemblage.  It  may  be  accounted  for,  however,  to  a 
certain  degree  by  the  compulsory  sobriety  of  the  islanders,  who 


138 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


are  usually  without  spirituous  liquors,  the  rum  obtained  from 
time  to  time  from  passing  ships  being  speedily  disposed  of. 
Mr.  Taylor  speaks  somewhat  despondingly  of  the  prospect  of 
the  settlement.  He  indicates  the  various  causes  which  in  his 
opinion  negative  its  progress,  dwelling  particularly  upon  the 
destruction  of  the  wood  ;  he  looks  upon  the  exodus  which  took 
place  when  he  left  the  island  as  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and 
he  hopes  in  the  interests  of  the  settlers  and  of  humanity  that 
the  island  may  soon  be  abandoned.  Facts  scarcely  seem  to 
justify  Mr.  Taylor's  anticipations.  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh visited  Tristan,  in  the  Galatea,  in  1867:  and  the  Rev. 
John  Milner,  in  an  entertaining  narrative  of  the  cruise,  gives 
an  excellent  account  of  the  early  history  of  the  colony,  and  of 
its  condition  at  the  time  of  the  Galatea? s  visit.  The  number 
of  inhabitants  had  again  risen  to  eighty-six,  which  seems  to  be 
about  the  normal  population.  Governor  Glass  had  been  dead 
fourteen  years ;  he  had  no  successor  in  his  title ;  but  one  of  the 
oldest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Green,  who  married  one  of  Glass's  daughters,  had  slipped  into 
the  practical  part  of  his  office,  and  was  tacitly  acknowledged 
as  the  representative  of  the  islanders  in  all  transactions  with 
strangers.  He  lived  in  Glass's  house,  the  best  in  the  place, 
hoisted  the  red  ensign  and  a  flowing  white  beard,  and  in  virtue 
of  these  symbols  seemed  to  be  accepted  as  general  referee  in 
all  matters  of  difficulty.  The  flocks  and  herds  were  thriving, 
and  vegetables  and  poultry  abounded.  The  chaplain  of  the 
Galatea  christened  sixteen  healthy  children,  born  since  the  de- 
parture of  Mr.  Taylor,  and  offered  to  marry  seven  pairs  of  un- 
appropriated lads  and  lasses  who  happened,  oddly  enough,  to 
form  part  of  the  community,  but  they  were  not  inclined  to 
choose  partners  so  suddenly.  The  prince  and  his  suite  had 
luncheon  with  Mr.  Green,  and  met  some  of  the  chief  men, 
and  all  the  ladies  were  introduced  to  him.  Altogether,  in- 
stead of  the  colony  showing  any  tendency  to  an  immediate 


CHAP.  III.] 


BARIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


139 


break-up,  there  seemed  to  be  very  general  comfort  and  content- 
ment. 

At  day-break  on  the  14th,  the  summit  of  the  peak  of  Tristan 
only  was  visible  from  the  deck  of  the  Challenger,  a  symmetrical 
cone,  the  sides  rising  at  an  angle  of  23°  to  a  height  of  7100  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  covered  with  snow  which  came  far 
down,  occupying  the  ravines,  dark  ridges  of  rock  rising  up  be- 
tween. On  account  of  the  distance,  the  lower  terrace  and  the 
more  level  part  of  the  island  could  not  be  seen.  A  sounding 
was  taken  in  2025  fathoms,  globigerina  ooze,  the  bottom  tem- 
perature 1°*6  C.  The  dredge  was  put  over,  and  brought  up 
two  specimens  of  a  small  Diadema  only.  In  the  evening  we 
resumed  our  course  toward  the  island,  and  made  all  arrange- 
ments for  sending  out  exploring  parties  the  first  opportunity. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  we  were  at  anchor  close 
under  the  land,  in  a  shallow  bay  open  to  the  westward.  A 
slope  of  rough  pasture,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width, 
extended  to  our  right,  running  up  from  the  beach  to  an  almost 
precipitous  wall  of  rock  a  thousand  feet  in  height,  the  mist 
lying  low  upon  it,  so  that  we  could  see  no  farther.  To  the 
left,  the  rampart  of  rock  came  sheer  down  almost  into  the  sea, 
leaving  only  a  narrow  strip  of  a  few  yards  of  shingly  beach. 
A  stream  ran  down  from  the  high  ground  nearly  opposite  the 
ship,  and  the  low  fall  with  which  it  tumbled  into  the  head  of 
the  bay  indicated  the  position  of  the  best  landing-place.  The 
settlement,  consisting  of  about  a  dozen  thatched  cottages,  was 
scattered  over  the  grassy  slope,  and  behind  it  one  or  two  ra- 
vines afforded  a  difficult  access  to  the  upper  terraces  and  the 
mountain.  The  only  tree  on  the  island  is  one  which  from  its 
limited  distribution  and  the  remoteness  of  its  locality  has,  so 
far  as  I  am  aware,  no  English  name — Phylica  arborea.  It 
is  a  small  tree,  allied  to  the  buckthorn,  not  rising  more  than 
twenty,  or  at  most  thirty,  feet,  but  sending  out  long  spreading 
branches  over  the  ground.  The  wood  is  of  no  value  for  car- 
II.— 10 


140 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  hi. 


pentry,  but  it  burns  well.  The  Phylica  has  been  exterminated 
on  the  low  part  of  the  island  and  in  the  mouths  of  the  ravines 
near  the  dwellings,  but  there  appears  still  to  be  abundance  in 


the  higher  and  more  distant  mountain  gorges.  No  doubt,  un- 
less some  plan  be  adopted  for  renewing  the  supply  on  the  low 
grounds,  the  labor  of  procuring  fuel  must  increase,  and  the 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


141 


stock  must  ultimately  be  exhausted ;  but  that  can  not  be  for 
a  considerable  time.  I  do  not  see  any  thing  whatever  in  the 
climate  or  other  conditions  of  Tristan  to  prevent  the  growth 
of  the  more  hardy  varieties  of  the  willow,  the  birch,  and  the 
alder.  The  experiment  is  well  worth  trying,  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  fast-growing  hardy  tree,  for  shelter  and  for  fire-wood, 
would  increase  the  comfort  of  the  colony  immensely ;  indeed, 
it  seems  to  be  all  that  is  necessary  to  insure  its  permanence. 

A  boat  came  along-side  early  in  the  morning,  with  eight  or 
ten  of  the  inhabitants,  some  of  them  line-looking,  sturdy  young 
men,  somewhat  of  the  English  type,  but  most  of  them  with  a 
dash  of  dark  blood.  They  brought  a  few  seal-skins,  some  wings 
and  breasts  of  the  albatross,  and  some  sea-birds'  eggs.  As  it 
was  their  early  spring,  they  had  unfortunately,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  onions  which  had  stood  over  the  winter,  no  fresh 
vegetables.  Their  chief  spokesman  was  Green,  now  an  old  man, 
but  hale  and  hearty.  He  made  all  arrangements  with  the  pay- 
master about  supplying  us  with  fresh  meat  and  potatoes  with 
intelligence  and  a  keen  eye  to  business.  After  the  departure 
of  our  guests,  we  landed  and  spent  a  long  day  on  shore,  explor- 
ing the  natural  history  of  the  neighborhood  of  the  settlement, 
and  learning  what  we  could  of  its  economy,  under  the  guidance 
of  Green  and  some  of  the  better  informed  of  the  elders ;  while 
others,  and  more  particularly  some  active,  dark -eyed  young 
women,  got  together  the  various  things  required  for  the  ship, 
each  bringing  a  tally  to  Green  of  her  particular  contribution, 
which  he  valued  and  noted.  Most  of  those  who  left  the  island 
in  the  Geyser  and  the  Galatea  have  returned,  and  the  colony  at 
present  consists  of  eighty-four  souls  in  fifteen  families,  the  fe- 
males being  slightly  in  the  majority.  Most  of  the  settlers  are 
in  some  way  connected  with  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  some  are 
Americans.  The  greater  number  of  the  women  are  mulattoes. 
Many  of  the  men  are  engaged  in  the  seal  and  whale  fishery; 
and  as  that  has  now  nearly  come  to  an  end  on  their  own  shores, 


142 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


they  are  generally  employed  on  board  American  whalers  in  the 
Southern  seas.  We  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  a  son 
of  Governor  Glass,  a  very  intelligent,  handsome  young  man, 
who  had  been  at  Kerguelen  Land,  and  at  several  other  whaling 
stations  in  the  south,  and  who  gave  us  some  useful  information. 
The  chief  traffic  of  the  islanders  is  with  these  American  ships, 
from  eight  to  twelve  of  which  call  in  passing  yearly,  to  barter 
manufactured  goods  and  household  stuffs  for  fresh  vegetables 
and  potatoes. 

The  fifteen  families  possess  from  five  to  six  hundred  head  of 
cattle,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  sheep,  with  pigs  and  poul- 
try in  large  numbers.  Beef  was  sold  to  our  mess-man  at  four- 
pence  a  pound,  mutton  at  fourpence,  pork  somewhat  cheaper, 
and  geese  at  five  shillings  each,  so  that  the  Tristaners,  so  long 
as  they  can  command  a  market — and  the  number  of  their  occa- 
sional visitors  is  increasing  with  increasing  communication  and 
commerce — can  not  be  considered  in  any  way  ill  off.  Their  is- 
olation and  their  respectability,  maintained  certainly  with  great 
resolution  and  under  trying  circumstances,  induce  a  perhaps 
somewhat  unreasonable  sympathy  for  them,  which  they  by  no 
means  discourage,  and  which  usually  manifests  itself  in  sub- 
stantial gifts. 

The  cottages  are  solid  and  comfortable.  They  usually  con- 
sist of  two  or  three  rooms,  and  are  built  of  a  dark-brown  tu- 
faceous  stone,  which  they  blast  in  large  blocks  from  the  rocks 
above,  and  shape  with  great  accuracy  with  axes.  Many  of  the 
blocks  are  upward  of  a  ton  in  weight,  and  they  are  cut  so  as  to 
lock  into  one  another  in  a  double  row  in  the  thickness  of  the 
wall,  with  smaller  pieces  equally  carefully  fitted  between  them. 
There  is  no  lime  on  the  island,  so  that  the  blocks  are  fitted 
on  the  cyclopean  plan,  without  cement.  With  all  precautions, 
however,  the  wind  sometimes  blows  from  the  south-west  with 
such  fury  that  even  these  massive  dwellings  are  blown  down ; 
and  we  were  assured  that  the  rough  blocks,  brought  from  the 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAH  I  A  TO  THE  CAPE. 


143 


mountain  and  laid  on  the  ground  to  be  fashioned,  are  sometimes 
tumbled  about  by  the  force  of  the  wind. 

They  have  on  the  island  a  few  strong  spars,  mostly  the  masts 
of  wrecked  vessels,  and  to  get  the  great  blocks  up  to  the  top  of 
the  wall  after  it  has  risen  to  a  certain  height,  they  use  a  long 
incline,  made  of  a  couple  of  these  spars,  well  greased,  up  which 
they  slowly  drag  and  shove  the  blocks,  much  as  they  are  repre- 
sented as  doing  in  old  times  in  some  of  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphs. The  furniture  of  the  rooms  is  scanty,  owing  to  the  dif- 
ficulty of  procuring  wood ;  but  passing  ships  seem  to  furnish 


Fig.  35. — Cyclopean  Architecture,  Tristan  Island.    {From  a  photograph.) 

enough  of  woven  fabrics  to  supply  bedding,  and  in  the  better 
cottages  some  little  drapery,  and  to  enable  the  people,  and  par- 
ticularly the  women,  to  dress  in  a  comfortable  and  seemly  style. 
Low  stone- walls  partition  the  land  round  the  cottages  into  small 
inclosures,  which  are  cultivated  as  gardens,  and  where  all  the 
ordinary  European  vegetables  thrive  fairly.  There  is  no  fruit 
of  any  kind  on  the  island.  The  largest  cultivated  tract  is  on 
the  flat,  about  half  a  mile  from  "  Edinburgh."  There  the  greater 
part  of  the  potatoes  are  grown,  and  the  cattle  and  sheep  have 
their  head-quarters.  The  goods  of  the  colonists  are  in  no  sense 
in  common ;  each  has  his  own  property  in  land  and  in  stock. 
A  new-comer  receives  a  grant  of  a  certain  extent  of  land,  and 


144 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  III. 


he  gets  some  grazing  rights,  and  the  rest  of  the  settlers  assist 
him  in  fencing  his  patch,  and  in  working  it  and  preparing  it 
for  a  first  crop.  They  then  contribute  the  necessary  cattle, 
sheep,  potato-seed,  etc.,  to  start  him  ;  contributions  which  he  no 
doubt  repays  when  he  is  in  a  position  to  do  so,  under  some  def- 
inite understanding,  for  the  Tristan  Islanders  have  a  very  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  the  value  of  things.  There  seems  to  be  a 
harmonious  arrangement  among  them  for  assisting  one  another 
in  their  work,  such  assistance  being  repaid  either  in  kind  or  in 
produce  or  money.  The  community  is  under  no  regular  sys- 
tem of  laws  ;  every  thing  appears  to  go  by  a  kind  of  general 
understanding.  When  difficulties  occur,  they  are  referred  to 
Green,  and  perhaps  to  others,  and  are  settled  by  the  general 
sense.  This  system  is  probably  another  great  source  of  the  ap- 
parently exceptional  morality  of  the  place :  in  so  small  a  com- 
munity where  all  are  so  entirely  interdependent,  no  misconduct 
affecting  the  interests  of  others  can  be  tolerated  or  easily  con- 
cealed, and  as  there  is  no  special  machinery  for  the  detection 
and  punishment  of  offenses,  the  final  remedy  lies  in  the  hands 
of  the  men  themselves,  who  are  most  of  them  young  and  stal- 
wart, and  well  able  to  keep  unruliness  in  check. 

The  island  of  Tristan  is  almost  circular,  about  seven  miles  in 
diameter.  The  position  of  Herald  Point,  close  to  the  settle- 
ment, is  lat.  37°  2'  45"  S.,  long.  12°  18'  30"  W.,  so  that  it  nearly 
corresponds  in  latitude  with  the  Acores  and  the  southern  point 
of  Spain  in  the  northern  hemisphere.  The  island  is  entirely 
volcanic;  the  cliff — upward  of  a  thousand  feet  high  —  which 
encircles  it,  breached  here  and  there  by  steep  ravines,  is  formed 
of  thin  beds  of  tuffs  and  ashes,  some  of  them  curiously  brecci- 
ated  with  angular  fragments  of  basalt ;  and  layers  of  lava  inter- 
sected by  numerous  dikes  of  varying  widths  of  a  close-grained 
gray  dolerite.  The  cone  is  very  symmetrical,  almost  as  much 
so  as  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  and  the  flows  of  lava  down  its 
flanks  appear  as  rugged  black  ridges  through  the  snow.  The 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


115 


inhabitants  sometimes  go  to  the  top,  and  they  represent  the 
mountain  as  a  cone  of  ashes,  with  a  lake  on  the  summit.  The 
upper  terrace  is  covered  with  long,  coarse  grass,  with  a  tangled 
brush  of  Phylica  in  the  shelter  of  the  ravines. 

Two  species  of  albatross  breed  on  the  higher  parts  of  the  isl- 
and, Diomedea  exulans  and  D.  chlororhyne/ms,  the  former  even 
beyond  the  summer  limit  of  the  snow.  A  few  years  ago  there 
were  large  nocks  of  goats  on  the  upper  terraces,  but  latterly, 
from  some  unknown  cause,  they  have  entirely  disappeared,  and 
not  even  the  remains  of  one  of  them  can  be  found.  With  the 
exception  of  the  goat  and  the  pig,  and  the  rat  and  the  mouse, 
which  are  known  to  have  been  recently  introduced,  there  are 
no  land  quadrupeds  at  large  on  the  island ;  and  the  land  birds, 
so  far  as  we  know,  are  confined  to  three  species — a  thrush,  JVe- 
socichla  eremita ;  a  bunting  referred  by  Captain  Carmichael  to 
Emberiza  Brasiliensis  /  and  a  singular  bird  called  by  the  set- 
tlers the  "  island  hen,"  which  was  at  one  time  very  common, 
but  which  is  now  almost  extinct.  This  is  a  water-hen,  Galli- 
nula  nesiotis  (Sclater,  Proc.  Zool.  Soc,  1861),  very  nearly  allied 
to  our  common  English  moor-hen  {Gallinula  chlo?*opus),  which 
it  resembles  closely  in  general  appearance  and  coloring,  with, 
however,  several  satisfactory  specific  differences.  The  wings 
of  the  Tristan  species  are  much  shorter,  and  the  primary  feath- 
ers, and  indeed  all  the  feathers  of  the  wing,  are  so  short  and 
soft  as  to  be  useless  for  the  purposes  of  flight.  The  breast-bone 
is  short  and  weak,  and  the  crest  low,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  pelvis  and  the  bones  of  the  lower  extremity  are  large  and 
powerful,  and  the  muscles  attached  to  them  strong  and  full 
The  island  hen  runs  with  great  rapidity ;  it  is  an  inquisitive 
creature,  and  comes  out  of  its  cover  in  the  long  grass  when  it 
hears  a  noise.  It  is  excellent  eating,  a  good  quality  which  has 
led  to  its  extermination.  Mr.  Moseley  collected  between  twen- 
ty and  thirty  plants  on  Tristan,  perhaps  the  most  interesting 
a  geranium  {Pelargonium  australe,  Yar.),  a  species  which  ex- 


146 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


tends,  in  several  varieties,  to  the  Cape,  New  Zealand,  and  Aus- 
tralia. 

We  heard  a  curious  story  at  Tristan  about  two  Germans  who 
had  settled  nearly  two  years  before  on  Inaccessible  Island. 
Once  a  year,  about  the  month  of  December,  the  Tristan  men 
go  to  the  two  outlying  islands  to  pick  up  the  few  seals  which 
are  still  to  be  found.  On  two  of  these  occasions  they  had  seen 
the  Germans,  and  within  a  few  months  smoke  had  risen  from 
the  island,  which  they  attributed  to  their  having  fired  some  of 
the  brush ;  but  as  they  had  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  them 
since,  they  thought  the  probability  was  that  they  had  per- 
ished. Captain  Nares  wished  to  visit  the  other  islands,  and  to 
ascertain  the  fate  of  the  two  men  was  an  additional  object  in 
doing  so. 

Next  morning  we  were  close  under  Inaccessible  Island,  the 
second  in  size  of  the  little  group  of  three.  The  ship  was  sur- 
rounded by  multitudes  of  penguins,  and  as  few  of  us  had  any 
previous  personal  acquaintance  with  this  eccentric  form  of  life, 
we  followed  their  movements  with  great  interest.  -  The  penguin 
as  a  rule  swims  under  water,  rising  now  and  then  and  resting 
on  the  surface,  like  one  of  the  ordinary  water-birds,  but  more 
frequently  with  its  body  entirely  covered,  and  only  lifting  its 
head  from  time  to  time  to  breathe. 

One  peculiarity  surprised  us  greatly;  for  although  we  were 
tolerably  familiar  with  the  literature  of  the  family,  we  had 
never  seen  it  described.  The  "  rock-hopper,"  and,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  species  of  other  genera  besides  Eudyptes,  when  in  a 
number  in  the  water,  have  a  constant  habit  of  closing  together 
the  legs  and  tail  straight  out,  laying  the  wings  flat  to  the  sides, 
arching  forward  the  neck,  and,  apparently  by  an  action  of  the 
muscles  of  the  back,  springing  forward  clear  out  of  the  water, 
showing  a  steel-gray  back  and  a  silvery  belly,  like  a  grilse. 
They  run  in  this  way  in  lines  like  a  school  of  porpoises,  seem- 
ingly in  play ;  and  when  they  are  thus  disporting  themselves 


Fig.  36. — Water-fall,  Inaccessible  Island.    (From  a  photograph.) 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


149 


it  is  really  very  difficult  to  believe  that  one  is  not  watching  a 
shoal  of  fish  pursued  by  enemies. 

In  the  water,  penguins  are  usually  silent,  but  now  and  then 
one  raises  its  head  and  emits  a  curious,  prolonged  croak,  start- 
lingly  like  one  of  the  deeper  tones  of  the  human  voice.  One 
rarely  observes  it  in  the  daylight  and  in  the  midst  of  other 
noises,  but  at  night  it  is  weird  enough ;  and  the  lonely  officer  of 
the  middle  watch,  whose  thoughts  may  have  wandered  for  the 
moment  from  the  imminent  iceberg  back  to  some  more  genial 
memory,  is  often  pulled  up  with  a  start  by  that  gruff  "  whaat " 
along-side  in  the  darkness,  close  below  the  bridge. 

The  structure  of  this  island  is  very  much  the  same  as  that 
of  Tristan,  only  that  the  pre-eminent  feature  of  the  latter,  the 
snowy  cone,  is  wanting.  A  wall  of  volcanic  rocks,  about  the 
same  height  as  the  cliff  at  Tristan,  and  which  one  is  inclined  to 
believe  to  have  been  at  one  time  continuous  with  it,  entirely 
surrounds  Inaccessible  Island,  falling  for  the  most  part  sheer 
into  the  sea,  and  it  seems  that  it  slopes"  sufficiently  to  allow  a 
tolerably  easy  ascent  to  the  plateau  on  the  top  at  one  point 
only. 

There  is  a  shallow  bay,  in  which  the  ship  anchored  in  fifteen 
fathoms,  on  the  east  side  of  the  island ;  and  there,  as  in  Tristan, 
a  narrow  belt  of  low  ground  extending  for  about  a  mile  along 
the  shore  is  interposed  between  the  cliff  and  the  sea.  A  pretty 
water-fall  tossed  itself  down  about  the  middle  of  the  bay  over 
the  cliff  from  the  plateau  above.  A  little  way  down  it  was 
nearly  lost  in  sj3ray,  like  the  Staubbach,  and  collected  itself 
again  into  a  rivulet,  where  it  regained  the  rock  at  a  lower  level. 
A  hut  built  of  stones  and  clay,  and  roofed  with  spars  and  thatch, 
lay  in  a  little  hollow  near  the  water-fall ;  and  the  two  Germans, 
in  excellent  health  and  spirits,  but  enraptured  at  the  sight  of 
the  ship  and  longing  for  a  passage  anywhere  out  of  the  island, 
were  down  on  the  beach  waiting  for  the  first  boat.  Their  story 
is  a  curious  one ;  and  as  Captain  Nares  agreed  to  take  them  to 


150 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


the  Cape,  we  had  ample  time  to  get  an  account  of  their  advent- 
ures, and  to  supplement  from  their  experience  such  crude  no- 
tions of  the  nature  of  the  place  as  we  could  gather  during  our 
short  stay. 

Frederick  and  Gustav  Stoltenhoff  are  sons  of  a  dyer  in  Aix- 
la-Chapelle.  Frederick,  the  elder,  was  employed  in  a  merchant's 
office  in  Aix-la-Chapelle  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
Franco-Prussian  war.  He  was  called  on  to  serve  in  the  Ger- 
man army,  where  he  attained  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant, 
and  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Metz  and  Thionville.  At  the  end 
of  the  campaign  he  was  discharged,  and  returned  home,  to  find 
his  old  situation  filled  up. 

In  the  mean  time,  his  younger  brother,  Gustav,  who  was  a 
sailor,  and  had  already  made  several  trips,  joined  on  the  1st  of 
August,  1870,  at  Greenock,  as  an  ordinary  seaman,  the  English 
ship  Beacon  Light,  bound  for  Rangoon.  On  the  way  out,  the 
cargo,  which  consisted  of  coal,  caught  fire  when  they  were  from 
six  to  seven  hundred  miles  north-west  of  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
and  for  three  days  all  hands  were  doing  their  utmost  to  extin- 
guish the  fire.  On  the  third  day  the  hatches,  which  had  been 
battened  down  to  exclude  the  air,  blew  up,  the  main  hatch  car- 
rying overboard  the  second  mate,  who  had  been  standing  on  it 
at  the  time  of  the  explosion.  The  boats  had  been  provisioned 
beforehand,  ready  to  leave  the  ship.  Two  of  the  crew  were 
drowned  through  one  of  the  boats  being  swamped,  and  the  sur- 
vivors, to  the  number  of  sixteen,  were  stowed  in  the  long-boat. 
Up  to  this  time  the  ship  had  been  nearing  Tristan  with  a  fair 
wind  at  the  rate  of  six  knots  an  hour,  so  that  they  had  now  only 
about  three  hundred  miles  to  go.  They  abandoned  the  ship  on 
Friday :  on  Sunday  afternoon  they  sighted  Tristan,  and  on  the 
following  day  a  boat  came  off  to  their  assistance  and  towed 
them  ashore. 

The  shipwrecked  crew  remained  for  eighteen  days  at  Tristan 
d'Acunha,  during  which  time  they  were  treated  with  all  kind- 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


151 


ness  and  hospitality.  They  were  relieved  by  the  ill-fated  North- 
fleet,  bound  for  Aden  with  coal,  and  Gustav  Stoltenhoff  found 
his  way  back  to  Aix. 

During  his  stay  at  Tristan  he  heard  that  large  numbers  of 
seals  were  to  be  had  among  the  islands,  and  he  seems  to  have 
been  greatly  taken  with  the  Tristaners,  and  to  have  formed  a 
project  of  returning  there.  When  he  got  home,  his  brother 
had  just  got  back  from  the  war  and  was  unemployed,  and  he 
infected  him  with  his  notion,  and  the  two  agreed  to  join  in  a 
venture  to  Tristan  to  see  what  they  could  make  by  seal-hunting 
and  barter. 

They  accordingly  sailed  for  St.  Helena  in  August,  1871,  and 
on  the  6th  of  November  left  St.  Helena  for  Tristan  in  an  Amer- 
ican whaler  bound  on  a  cruise  in  the  South  Atlantic.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  whaler,  who  had  been  often  at  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
had  some  doubt  of  the  reception  which  the  young  men  would 
get  if  they  went  as  permanent  settlers,  and  he  spoke  so  strong- 
ly of  the  advantages  of  Inaccessible  Island,  on  account  of  the 
greater  productiveness  of  the  soil,  and  of  its  being  the  centre  of 
the  seal-fishing,  that  they  changed  their  plans  and  were  landed 
on  the  west  side  of  Inaccessible  on  the  27th  of  November — early 
in  summer.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  after,  the  whaler  departed, 
leaving  them  the  only  inhabitants  of  one  of  the  most  remote 
spots  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  do  not  seem,  however,  to 
have  been  in  the  least  depressed  by  their  isolation. 

The  same  day  the  younger  brother  clambered  up  to  the  pla- 
teau with  the  help  of  the  tussock-grass,  in  search  of  goats  or 
pigs,  and  remained  there  all  night,  and  on  the  following  day 
the  two  set  to  work  to  build  themselves  a  hut  for  shelter. 
They  had  reached  the  end  of  their  voyage  by  no  means  unpro- 
vided, and  the  inventory  of  their  belongings  is  curious. 

They  had  an  old  whale-boat  which  they  had  bought  at  St. 
Helena,  with  mast,  sails,  and  oars ;  three  spars  for  a  roof,  a 
door,  and  a  glazed  window ;  a  wheelbarrow,  two  spades  and  a 


152 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


shovel,  two  pickaxes,  a  saw,  a  hamrner,  two  chisels,  two  or  three 
gimlets,  and  some  nails ;  a  kettle,  a  frying-pan,  two  saucepans, 
and  knives  and  forks,  and  some  crockery ;  two  blankets  each, 
and  empty  covers  which  they  afterward  filled  with  sea-birds' 
down.  They  had  a  lamp  and  a  bottle  of  oil,  and  six  dozen 
boxes  of  Bryant  &  May's  matches. 

For  internal  use  they  had  two  hundred  pounds  of  flour,  two 
hundred  pounds  of  rice,  one  hundred  pounds  of  biscuit,  twenty 
pounds  of  coffee,  ten  pounds  of  tea,  thirty  pounds  of  sugar, 
three  pounds  of  table -salt,  a  little  pepper,  eight  pounds  of 
tobacco,  five  bottles  of  hollands,  six  bottles  of  Cape  wine,  six 
bottles  of  vinegar,  and  some  Epsom-salts.  A  barrel  of  coarse 
salt  was  provided  for  curing  seal -skins,  and  fourteen  empty 
casks  for  oil.  Their  arms  and  ammunition  consisted  of  a  short 
Enfield  rifle,  an  old  German  fowling-piece,  two  and  a  half 
pounds  of  powder,  two  hundred  bullets,  and  four  sheath-knives. 
The  captain  of  the  whaler  gave  them  some  seed-potatoes,  and 
they  had  a  collection  of  the  ordinary  garden  seeds. 

When  they  had  been  four  days  on  the  island  they  had  a  visit 
from  a  party  of  men  from  Tristan,  who  had  come  on  their  an- 
nual sealing  excursion.  They  were  ten  days  on  Inaccessible, 
and  were  very  friendly  in  their  intercourse  with  the  new- 
comers. They  told  them  that  the  north  side  of  the  island  was 
better  suited  for  a  settlement,  and  transported  all  their  goods 
thither  in  one  of  their  boats.  Being  familiar  with  the  place, 
they  showed  them  generally  their  way  about,  and  the  different 
passes  by  which  the  plateau  might  be  reached  from  beneath, 
and  they  taught  them  how  to  build  to  withstand  the  violent 
winds,  and  how  to  thatch  with  tussock-grass. 

Immediately  after  they  left,  the  brothers  set  about  building 
a  house  and  clearing  some  ground  for  potatoes  and  other  vege- 
tables. They  killed  nineteen  fur-seals,  and  prepared  the  skins, 
but  they  were  unable  to  make  any  quantity  of  oil.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  sealing  season  their  boat  got  damaged  in  the 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


153 


surf,  and  they  were  obliged  to  cut  it  in  two  and  patcli  up  the 
best  half  of  it,  and  use  it  as  best  they  might  in  smooth  weather 
close  to  the  shore. 

They  went  from  time  to  time  to  the  upper  plateau  and  shot 
goats  and  pigs.  When  they  first  arrived,  they  counted  a  flock 
of  twenty-three  goats ;  three  of  these  were  killed  during  the 
summer  of  1871-  72  by  the  Tristan  people,  and  six  by  them- 
selves ;  the  remaining  fourteen  remained  over  the  winter  of 
1872.  The  flesh  of  the  goats  they  found  extremely  delicate. 
Pigs  were  much  more  numerous,  but  their  flesh  was  not  so  pal- 
atable, from  their  feeding  principally  on  sea-birds ;  that  of  the 
boars  was  especially  rank.  They  found  the  pigs  very  valuable, 
however,  in  yielding  an  abundant  supply  of  lard,  which  they 
used  to  fry  their  potatoes. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1872,  a  singular  misfortune  befell 
them.  While  burning  some  of  the  brush  below  to  make  a 
clearing,  the  tussock  in  the  gully  by  which  they  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  ascending  the  cliff  caught  fire,  and  as  it  had  been 
only  by  its  assistance  that  they  had  been  able  to  scramble  up 
the  plateau,  their  only  hunting-ground  was  now  inaccessible 
from  the  strip  of  beach  on  which  their  hut  and  garden  stood, 
which  was  closed  in  at  cither  end  by  a  headland  jutting  into 
the  sea.  While  their  half  boat  remained  sea- worthy,  they  were 
able  to  paddle  round  in  fine  weather  to  the  west  side  of  the 
island,  where  there  was  an  access  to  the  top  ;  but  the  "  sea-cart," 
as  they  called  it,  was  washed  off  the  beach  and  broken  up  in 
June,  and  after  that  the  only  way  they  had  of  reaching  the 
plateau  was  by  swimming  round  the  headland  —  a  risky  feat, 
even  in  the  finest  weather,  in  these  wild  regions. 

In  winter  it  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  reach  the  terrace, 
and  as  their  supply  of  food  was  low,  they  experienced  consid- 
erable privations  during  their  first  winter.  Their  daily  allow- 
ance of  food  was  reduced  to  a  quantity  just  sufficient  to  main- 
tain life,  and  in  August  they  "were  little  better  than  skeletons." 


154 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


Help  was,  however,  near.  Early  in  August  a  multitude  of  pen- 
guins landed  at  a  "  rookery  "  hard  by  their  hut — stupid  animals, 
which  will  scarcely  get  out  of  one's  way,  and  are  easily  knocked 
down  with  a  stick,  and  with  fleshy  breasts,  wholesome  enough, 
if  with  a  rather  Ashy  taste;  and  in  the  end  of  August  the  fe- 
males began  to  lay  large  blue  eggs,  sufficiently  delicate  in  flavor. 

A  French  bark  hove  to  off  the  beach  in  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, and  in  her  they  shipped  their  seal-skins,  and  bartered 
penguins'  eggs  with  her  for  biscuits  and  tobacco.  Had  the 
bark  arrived  a  week  earlier,  the  brothers  would  have  left  the 
island ;  but  the  eggs  had  set  them  up  again,  and  they  deter- 
mined to  remain  a  little  longer.  In  October  a  fore-and-aft 
schooner,  which  proved  to  be  the  Themis,  a  whaler  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  was  seen  standing  toward  the  island.  A 
gale  of  wind  blew  her  off  for  a  couple  of  days,  but  she  returned 
and  communicated,  landing  some  men  from  Tristan,  who  had 
crossed  to  see  what  the  hermits  were  about.  Their  guests  re- 
mained a  day  and  a  half,  and  returned  to  Tristan. 

Early  in  November,  that  is,  early  in  their  second  summer,  the 
brothers  swam  round  the  eastern  headland  —  Frederick  with 
their  blankets,  the  rifle,  and  a  spare  suit  of  clothes  —  Gustav 
with  powder,  matches,  and  the  kettle  in  an  oil -cask.  They 
mounted  by  the  help  of  the  tussock  -  grass  to  the  top  of  the 
cliff,  went  over  to  the  west  side  of  the  plateau,  and  built  a  small 
hut,  where  they  remained  a  month,  living  on  goats'  flesh  and 
fresh  pork.  On  the  10th  of  December  they  returned  home, 
mended  their  thatch,  dug  the  early  potatoes,  and  put  the  gar- 
den in  order. 

On  the  19th  of  December  the  Tristan  men  made  their  second 
sealing  expedition.  They  remained  nine  days  on  the  island, 
and  killed  forty  seals,  one  sea-elephant,  and  eight  of  the  remain- 
ing twelve  goats.  They  left  some  flour  in  exchange  for  an  oil- 
cask,  and  this  was  the  last  communication  between  the  brothers 
and  the  outer  world  until  the  Challenger  called,  eight  months 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


155 


later.  In  January,  Frederick  swam  round  the  point  again,  and 
mounted  the  cliff.  He  shot  four  pigs,  ran  the  fat  into  buckets, 
and  threw  the  hams  down  to  his  brother  on  the  beach  below. 
He  saw  the  four  last  goats,  but  spared  them,  to  increase  their 
number.  In  February  a  boat  came  to  the  west  side  from  Tris- 
tan, and  its  crew  killed  the  four  goats,  and  departed  without 
communicating  with  the  Stoltenhoffs. 

The  relations  between  the  Tristan  people  and  the  brothers 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  so  cordial  latterly  as  they  were  at 
first ;  and  the  Stoltenhoffs  believe  that  the  object  of  their 
neighbors  in  killing  the  goats,  and  in  delaying  from  time  to 
time  bringing  them  some  live  stock  which  they  had  promised 
them,  was  to  force  them  to  leave  the  island.  It  may  have 
been  so,  for  the  Tristan  men  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making 
a  yearly  sealing  expedition  to  Inaccessible,  and  no  doubt  the 
presence  of  the  energetic  strangers  lessened  their  chance  of 
success. 

In  March  the  brothers  once  more  swam  round  the  point  and 
ascended  the  cliff.  After  staying  on  the  plateau  together  for 
a  few  days,  it  was  settled  that  Frederick  should  remain  above 
and  lay  in  a  stock  of  lard  for  the  winter,  Gtistav  returning  to 
the  hut  and  storing  it.  When  a  pig  was  killed,  the  hide,  with 
the  fat  in  it,  was  rolled  up,  secured  with  thongs  of  skin,  and 
thrown  over  the  cliff,  and  Gustav  then  ran  the  lard  into  a  cask. 

During  their  second  wTinter  the  privations  of  the  brothers  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  great.  They  were  getting  accustomed 
to  their  mode  of  life,  and  they  had  always  sufficient  food,  such 
as  it  was.  They  were  remarkably  well  educated :  both  could 
speak  and  read  English  fluently,  and  the  elder  had  a  good 
knowledge  of  French.  Their  library  consisted  of  eight  vol- 
umes :  Schodler's  "  Natural  History,"  a  German  atlas,  "  Charles 
O'Malley,"  "  Captain  Morrell's  Voyages,"  two  old  volumes  of  a 
monthly  magazine,  "  Hamlet "  and  "  Coriolanus  "  with  French 
notes,  and  Schiller's  Poems.  These  they  unfortunately  came 
II.— 11 


156 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


to  know  almost  by  heart ;  but  they  had  considerable  resources 
in  themselves,  in  the  intelligent  interest  which  they  took  in  the 
ever-changing  appearances  of  nature. 

When  the  Challenger  arrived,  they  were  preparing  for  an- 
other summer ;  but  the  peculiar  food  and  the  want  of  variety 
in  it  were  beginning  to  tell  upon  them,  for  all  their  original 
stores  were  exhausted,  with  the  exception  of  the  Epsom -salts, 
which  was  untouched,  neither  of  them  having  had  an  hour's  ill- 
ness during  their  sojourn  ;  and  they  were  heartily  glad  of  the 
chance  of  a  passage  to  the  Cape. 

Frederick  came  to  the  ship  to  see  us  before  we  left  for  the 
south  in  December.  He  was  then  comfortably  settled  in  a  situ- 
ation in  a  merchant's  office  in  Cape  Town,  and  Gustav  was  on 
his  way  home  to  see  his  people  before  resuming  the  thread  of 
his  roving  sailor's  life. 

We  landed  after  breakfast,  and  proceeded  to  explore  the  strip 
along  the  shore.  We  were  anxious  to  have  reached  the  plateau, 
but  the  sea  was  breaking  heavily  on  the  weather  coast,  and  it 
was  considered  unsafe  to  land  opposite  the  practicable  ascent 
in  a  ship's  boat.  The  hut  was  built  to  the  extreme  left  of  the 
strip,  close  to  the  water-fall,  for  the  convenience  of  being  near 
the  bountiful  supply  of  pure  fresh  water  yielded  by  the  stream. 
To  the  right,  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  the  ground  was 
broken  and  uneven — an  accumulation  of  debris  from  the  cliff, 
covered  with  a  close  thicket  of  well -grown  Phylica  arbor  ea 
tangled  with  long  grass,  and  the  low  branches  of  the  trees  over- 
grown with  moss  and  ferns,  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  lat- 
ter the  handsome  Lomaria  robusta,  and  the  most  abundant  a 
spreading  Hymenojphyllum  matted  over  the  stones  and  stumps. 
The  noddy  {Sterna  stolida)  builds  loose  nests  of  sticks  and 
leaves  in  the  trees,  and  the  ground  and  the  accumulations  of 
moss  and  dead  leaves  among  the  fragments  of  rock  are  honey- 
combed with  the  burrows  of  a  gray  petrel  about  the  size  of  a 
pigeon,  of  a  smaller  petrel,  and  of  Prion  vittatus. 


Plate  XXX.    Meteorological  Obse\ 


N  Barometer 


Dry  Bulb  Thermometer 


Wet 


E    Z7te>  arrows  zrvdiyCCbte/  thfy  citrcc^oTv  of  th&  ~mjufr>  arvdy  -£ht/  ? 


itions  for  the  month  of  October,  1873. 


ulb  Thermometer  Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


fibers  ~b€?vect£7i/  it&  fbrcey  cicc&rclzjrvcf  to  JBecui/vr&'s  $<xx>Le</ 
17      18       19      20      21       ZZ      23      24-     25      26      27      28      29      30      31  m\X 


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r 

CHAP.  III.] 


BARIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


157 


The  holes  of  the  larger  petrel  are  like  rabbit  -  burrows,  and 
those  of  the  other  two  birds  are  smaller.  They  have  the  en- 
trances usually  more  or  less  concealed,  and  it  is  odd  to  hear  the 
chirping  of  the  birds,  old  and  young,  muffled  by  the  layer  of 
soil  above  them,  all  among  one's  feet.  According  to  the  Stol- 
tenhoffs,  the  petrels  come  to  the  land  in  large  numbers  in  the 
beginning  of  September,  having  previously  been  at  sea,  fishing, 
when  they  pair  and  prepare  the  burrows  for  their  nests.  They 
disappear  for  a  time  in  the  beginning  of  October,  and  return 
early  in  November,  when  the  female  at  once  lays  a  single  long- 
shaped  white  egg,  about  the  size  of  a  duck's,  in  the  burrow. 
The  young  are  hatched  in  the  beginning  of  December.  The 
full-grown  bird  has  a  rank  taste,  which  is  even  communicated 
to  the  egg,  but  the  young  are  good  eating.  The  smaller  petrel, 
a  bluish-gray  bird,  is  not  much  larger  than  Thalassidroma  Wil- 
soni ;  it  breeds  in  company  with  the  Prion,  in  old  holes  of  the 
larger  petrel  or  in  smaller  special  burrows.  The  smaller  petrel 
and  the  Prion  fly  chiefly  at  night  or  very  early  morning,  and 
are  called,  at  Tristan,  "  night-birds."  The  egg  of  the  Prion  is 
white,  and  about  the  size  of  a  house-pigeon's. 

After  passing  the  wood  the  ground  becomes  more  level,  and 
here  the  StoltenhofTs  had  made  a  clearing  for  a  potato  plot  and 
a  vegetable  garden.  It  was  a  bad  season  for  vegetables,  but 
our  blue-jackets  carried  off  a  boat-load  of  cabbages  and  radishes 
before  the  establishment  was  broken  up.  They  likewise  rifled 
a  little  hut  in  the  garden,  where  a  large  supply  of  fresh  pen- 
guins' eggs  was  stored.  Many  thrushes  and  finches  were  perch- 
ing on  the  low  trees  about,  and  they  were  so  tame  that  we  had 
no  difficulty  in  knocking  down  several  with  our  sticks,  to  get 
uninjured  specimens  for  stuffing.  Both  birds  are  constantly 
on  the  island.  The  thrush  builds  in  the  tussock-grass,  a  couple 
of  feet  from  the  ground,  in  the  beginning  of  October,  and  lays 
usually  two  eggs — brown  spots  on  a  pale  greenish  ground,  very 
like  those  of  the  common  blackbird ;  the  finch  builds  in  the 


158  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  hi. 

bushes,  and  lays  four  to  five  eggs,  very  like  those  of  the  com- 
mon canary. 


Beyond  the  garden  the  tussock-grass  of  the  Tristan  group, 
which  is  Spartina  arundinacea  —  not  Dactylis  ccespitosa,  the 
well-known  tiissock-grass  of  the  Falklands — forms  a  dense  jun- 
gle.   The  root-clumps,  or  "  tussocks/'  are  two  or  three  feet  in 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAEIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


159 


width  and  about  a  foot  high,  and  the  spaces  between  them  one 
to  two  feet  wide.  The  tuft  of  thick  grass -stems  —  seven  or 
eight  feet  in  height — rises  strong  and  straight  for  a  yard  or  so, 
and  then  the  culms  separate  from  one  another  and  mingle  with 
those  of  the  neighboring  tussocks.  This  makes  a  brush  very 
difficult  to  make  one's  way  through,  for  the  heads  of  grass  are 
closely  entangled  together  on  a  level  with  the  face  and  chest. 
In  this  scrub  one  of  the  crested  penguins — probably  Eudyptes 
chrysocoma,  called  by  the  sealers,  in  common  with  other  sjDecies 
of  the  genus  Eudyptes,  the  "  rock  -hopper  " — has  established  a 
rookery.  From  a  great  distance,  even  so  far  as  the  hut  or  the 
ship,  one  could  hear  an  incessant  noise  like  the  barking  of  a 
myriad  of  dogs  in  all  possible  keys ;  and  as  we  came  near  the 
place,  bands  of  penguins  wTere  seen  constantly  going  and  return- 
ing between  the  rookery  and  the  sea.  All  at  once,  out  at  sea,  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  from  the  shore,  the  water  is  seen  in  mo- 
tion, a  dark-red  beak,  and  sometimes  a  pair  of  eyes,  appearing 
now  and  then  for  a  moment  above  the  surface.  The  moving 
water  approaches  the  shore  in  a  wedge-shape,  and  with  great 
rapidity  a  band  of  perhaps  from  three  to  four  hundred  pen- 
guins scramble  out  upon  the  stones,  at  once  exchanging  the 
vigorous  and  graceful  movements  and  attitudes  for  which  they 
are  so  remarkable  wdiile  in  the  water  for  helpless  and  ungainly 
ones,  tumbling  over  the  stones,  and  apparently  with  difficulty 
assuming  their  normal  position  upright  on  their  feet — which 
are  set  far  back  —  and  with  their  fin-like  wings  hanging  in  a 
useless  kind  of  way  at  their  sides.  When  they  have  got  fairly 
out  of  the  water,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  surf,  they  stand  to- 
gether for  a  few  minutes,  drying  and  dressing  themselves  and 
talking  loudly,  apparently  congratulating  themselves  on  their 
safe  landing,  and  then  they  scramble  in  a  body  over  the  stony 
beach — many  falling  and  picking  themselves  up  again  with  the 
help  of  their  flappers  on  the  way — and  make  straight  for  one 
particular  gangway  into  the  scrub,  along  which  they  waddle  in 


160 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  hi. 


regular  order  up  to  the  rookery.  In  the  mean  time  a  party  of 
about  equal  number  appear  from  the  rookery  at  the  end  of  an- 
other of  the  paths.  When  they  get  out  of  the  grass  on  to  the 
beach,  they  all  stop  and  talk  and  look  about  them,  sometimes 
for  three  or  four  minutes.  They  then  with  one  consent  scuttle 
down  over  the  stones  into  the  water,  and  long  lines  of  ripple 
radiating  rapidly  from  their  jxlace  of  departure  are  the  only  in- 
dications that  the  birds  are  speeding  out  to  sea.  The  tussock- 
brake,  which  in  Inaccessible  Island  is  perhaps  four  or  five  acres 
in  extent,  was  alive  with  penguins  breeding.  The  nests  are 
built  of  the  stems  and  leaves  of  the  Spa/rti/na  in  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  tussocks.  They  are  two  or  three  inches  high,  with  a 
slight  depression  for  the  eggs,  and  about  a  foot  in  diameter. 
The  gangways  between  the  tussocks,  along  which  penguins  are 
constantly  passing,  are  wet  and  slushy ;  and  the  tangled  grass, 
the  strong  ammoniacal  smell,  and  the  deafening  noise  (contin- 
ually penetrated  by  loud  separate  sounds  which  have  a  startling 
resemblance  to  the  human  voice),  make  a  walk  through  the 
rookery  neither  easy  nor  pleasant. 

The  penguin  is  thickly  covered  with  the  closest  felting  of 
down  and  feathers,  except  a  longitudinal  band,  which  in  the  fe- 
male extends  along  the  middle  line  of  the  lower  part  of  the  ab- 
domen, and  which,  at  all  events  in  the  breeding  season,  is  with- 
out feathers.  The  bird  seats  herself  almost  upright  upon  the 
eggs,  supported  by  the  feet  and  the  stiff  feathers  of  the  tail,  the 
feathers  of  the  abdomen  drawn  apart,  and  the  naked  band  di- 
rectly applied  to  the  eggs,  doubtless  with  the  object  of  bringing 
them  into  immediate  contact  with  the  source  of  warmth.  The 
female  and  the  male  sit  by  turns ;  but  the  f eatherless  space,  if 
present,  is  not  nearly  so  marked  in  the  male.  When  they  shift 
sitters,  they  sidle  up  close  together,  and  the  change  is  made  so 
rapidly  that  the  eggs  are  scarcely  uncovered  for  a  moment.  The 
young,  which  are  hatched  in  about  six  weeks,  are  curious-look- 
ing little  things  covered  with  black  down. 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAH  I  A  TO  THE  CAPE. 


161 


There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  penguins  properly  belong 
to  the  sea,  which  they  inhabit  within  moderate  distances  of  the 
shore,  and  they  only  come  to  the  land  to  breed  and  moult,  and 
for  the  young  to  develop  sufficiently  to  become  independent. 
But  all  this  takes  so  long  that  the  birds  are  practically  the 
greater  part  of  their  time  about  the  shore.  We  have  seen  no 
reason  as  yet  to  question  the  old  notion  that  their  presence  is 
an  indication  that  land  is  not  very  far  off. 

JEudyptes  chrysocoma  is  the  only  species  found  in  the  Tristan 
d'Acunha  group.  The  males  and  females  are  of  equal  size,  but 
the  males  may  be  readily  distinguished  by  their  stouter  beaks. 
From  the  middle  of  April  till  the  last  week  in  July  there  are 
no  penguins  on  Inaccessible  Island.  In  the  end  of  July  the 
males  begin  to  come  ashore,  at  first  in  twos  and  threes,  and  then 
in  larger  numbers,  all  fat,  and  in  the  best  plumage  and  condi- 
tion. They  lie  lazily  about  the  shore  for  a  day  or  two,  and  then 
begin  to  prepare  the  nests.  The  females  arrive  in  the  middle 
of  August,  and  repair  at  once  to  the  tussock-brake.  A  fortnight 
later  they  lay  two,  rarely  three,  eggs,  pale-blue,  very  round  in 
shape,  and  about  the  size  of  a  turkey's  egg.  It  is  singular  that 
one  of  the  two  eggs  is  almost  constantly  considerably  larger 
than  the  other.  The  young  are  hatched  in  six  weeks.  One  or 
other  of  the  old  birds  now  spends  most  of  its  time  at  sea,  fish- 
ing, and  the  young  are  fed,  as  in  most  sea-birds,  from  the  crop 
of  the  parents.  In  December  young  and  old  leave  the  land,  and 
remain  at  sea  for  about  a  fortnight,  after  which  the  moulting 
season  commences.  They  now  spread  themselves  along  the 
shore  and  about  the  cliffs,  often  climbing,  in  their  uncouth  way, 
into  places  which  one  would  have  imagined  inaccessible  to  them. 
Early  in  April  they  all  take  their  departure.  The  Stoltenhoffs 
witnessed  this  exodus  on  two  occasions,  and  they  say  that  on 
both  it  took  place  in  a  single  night.  In  the  evening  the  pen- 
guins were  with  them,  in  the  morning  they  were  gone. 

There  are  three  species  of  albatross  on  Inaccessible  Island : 


162 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


the  wandering  albatross,  Diomedea  exulans ;  the  mollymawk, 
which  appears  to  be  here  D.  chlororhyncha,  though  the  name  is 
given  by  the  sealers  to  different  species — certainly  farther  south 
to  D.  melanophrys  /  and  the  piew,  D.  fuliginosa.  About  two 
hundred  couples  of  the  wandering  albatross  visit  the  island. 
They  arrive  and  alight  singly  on  the  upper  plateau  early  in  De- 
cember, and  build  a  circular  nest  of  grass  and  clay,  about  a  foot 
high  and  two  feet  or  so  in  diameter,  in  an  open  space  free  from 
tussock-grass,  where  the  bird  has  room  to  expand  his  wonderful 
wings  and  rise  into  the  air.  The  female  lays  one  egg  in  the 
middle  of  January,  about  the  size  of  a  swan's,  white  with  a  band 
of  small  brick-red  spots  round  the  wider  end.  The  great  alba- 
tross leaves  the  island  in  the  month  of  July. 

The  mollymawk  is  a  smaller  bird,  and  builds  a  higher  and 
narrower  nest,  also  usually  in  the  open,  but  sometimes  among 
the  brush  and  tussocks,  in  which  case  it  has  to  make  for  an 
open  space  before  it  can  rise  in  flight.  It  breeds  a  little  earlier 
than  the  wandering  albatross,  and  its  eggs  were  just  in  season 
when  we  were  at  Tristan.  Diomedea  fuliginosa  builds  a  low 
nest  on  the  ledges  of  the  cliffs. 

The  other  common  sea-birds  on  Inaccessible  are  the  sea-hen, 
here  probably  Procellaria  gipUntea,  which  is  always  on  the  isl- 
and, and  lays  two  eggs  in  October  on  the  ground ;  and  a  beau- 
tiful delicately  colored  tern,  /Sterna  cassini,  white  and  pale  gray, 
with  a  black  head  and  red  coral  feet  and  beak,  which  breeds  in 
holes  in  the  most  inaccessible  parts  of  the  cliffs. 

Inaccessible,  like  Tristan,  has  its  island  hen,  and  it  is  one  of 
my  few  regrets  that  we  found  it  impossible  to  get  a  specimen 
of  it.  It  is  probably  a  Gallinula,  but  it  is  certainly  a  different 
species  from  the  Tristan  bird.  It  is  only  about  a  fourth  the 
size,  and  it  seems  to  be  markedly  different  in  appearance.  The 
Stoltenhoffs  were  very  familiar  with  it,  and  described  it  as  being 
exactly  like  a  black  chicken  two  days  old,  the  legs  and  beak 
black,  the  beak  long  and  slender,  the  head  small,  the  wings 


CHAP.  III.] 


BARIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


163 


short  and  soft  and  useless  for  flight.  It  is  common  on  the  pla- 
teau, and  runs  like  a  partridge  among  the  long  grass  and  ferns, 
feeding  upon  insects  and  seeds.  An  island  hen  is  also  found 
on  Gough  Island;  but  the  sealers  think  it  is  the  same  as  the 
Tristan  species. 

Some  of  our  party  returned  to  the  ship  about  midday,  and 
we  cruised  round  the  island,  the  surveyors  plotting  in  the  coast- 
line, and  thus  filling  up  a  geographical  blank,  and  in  the  after- 
noon we  dredged  in  sixty  and  seventy-five  fathoms. 

We  returned  to  the  anchorage  about  seven  o'clock,  and  the 
exploring  parties  came  on  board,  the  Germans  accompanying 
them  with  all  their  gear.  As  we  hove  in  sight  of  the  hut  a 
broad  blaze  shot  up,  followed  by  a  dense  volume  of  smoke,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  solitary  human  habitation  on  Inaccessi- 
ble Island  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ashes.  I  do  not  not  know 
whether  the  match  was  put  to  the  dry  straw  of  the  thatch  by 
accident  or  by  design,  but  the  Stoltenhoffs  seemed  to  feel  little 
regret  at  the  destruction  of  their  dwelling.  They  left  the  place 
with  no  very  friendly  feelings  toward  their  Tristan  neighbors, 
and  had  no  wish  to  leave  any  thing  behind  them  which  might 
be  turned  to  their  use. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  17th,  we  were  off  Night- 
ingale Island,  so  named  after  the  Dutch  skipper  who  first  re- 
ported it.  The  outline  of  this  island  is  more  varied  than  that 
of  the  other  two,  and  its  geological  structure  is  somewhat  differ- 
ent. Toward  the  north  end  there  is  a  conical  peak  of  a  gray, 
rudely  columnar  basaltic  rock  1105  feet  high,  and  the  southern 
portion  of  the  island,  which  is  more  undulating,  consists  of  bed- 
ded tufts  with  included  angular  fragments  of  dolerite,  like  the 
rocks  above  the  settlement  in  Tristan.  Near  the  south  shore 
these  softer  rocks  run  up  into  a  second  lower  ridge,  and  a  low 
cliff  bounds  the  island  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  with  creeks 
here  and  there  where  boats  can  land  through  the  surf.  In  the 
sea-cliff  there  are  some  large  caves  worn  in  the  friable  rock, 


164 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  III. 


which  used  to  be  the  favorite  haunts  of  the  fur-seal  and  the  sea- 
elephant;  but  these  have  been  nearly  exterminated,  and  the 
annual  visit  of  the  sealers  from  Tristan  is  rapidly  reducing  the 
small  number  which  still  come  to  the  island  in  the  pupping 
season. 

The  ship  stopped  off  the  east  end  of  the  island  to  land  sur- 
veying and  exploring  parties  at  the  foot  of  what  looked  at  a 
distance  like  a  gentle  slope  of  meadow  with  some  thickets  of 
low  trees,  running  up  into  the  middle  of  the  island,  between 
the  two  elevations. 

The  party  who  landed  found,  however,  that  instead  of  a 
meadow  the  slope  was  a  thick  copse  of  tussock-grass — and  one 
mass  of  penguins.  Struggling  through  the  dense  matted  grass 
which  reached  above  their  heads,  they  could  not  see  where  they 
were  going,  and  they  could  not  move  a  step  without  crushing 
eggs  or  old  or  young  birds.  The  crowds  of  penguins  resenting 
the  intrusion  with  all  the  vigor  at  their  command,  yelled  and 
groaned  and  scrambled  after  their  legs,  and  bit  and  pecked  them 
with  their  strong  sharp  beaks  till  the  blood  came.  What  with 
the  difficulty  of  forcing  their  way  through  the  scrub,  the  im- 
possibility of  seeing  a  foot  before  them  in  the  grass,  the  terrific 
noise  which  prevented  shouts  being  heard,  and  the  extraordi- 
nary sensation  of  being  attacked  about  the  legs  by  legions  of 
invisible  and  unfamiliar  enemies,  some  of  the  servants  got  nerv- 
ous and  bewildered.  They  lost  their  own  masters,  and  were 
glad  to  join  and  stick  to  any  one  whom  they  were  fortunate 
enough  to  find,  and  thus  several  of  our  explorers  got  separated 
from  their  apparatus,  and  some  lost  their  luncheons. 

Fortunately  at  five  o'clock  all  our  party  returned  in  safety  to 
the  ship,  save  one :  a  fine  old  setter  answering  to  the  name  of 
"  Boss,"  one  of  a  brace  we  had  on  board  for  sporting  purposes, 
got  astray  among  the  penguins.  His  voice,  clamorous  for  a 
time  in  his  bewilderment  and  fear,  and  the  torture  he  endured 
from  the  beaks  of  the  penguins,  was  soon  lost  in  the  infernal 


CHAP.  III.  J 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


165 


uproar;  and  as  the  men  had  enough  to  do  to  look  after  their 
own  safety,  they  were  compelled  reluctantly  to  leave  him  to 
his  fate. 

Since  our  visit  the  remote  little  community  of  Tristan 
d'Acunha  has  not  entirely  escaped  political  complications,  such 
as  have  involved  many  states  of  greater  importance  in  their 
own  estimation.  The  attention  of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
was  for  some  reason  or  other  attracted  to  the  island,  and  H.M.S. 
Sappho,  Commander  Noel  Digby,  called  at  Tristan  in  January, 
1875,  and  Captain  Digby  reported  that  at  that  time  there  were 
fourteen  families  on  the  island,  eighty-five  persons  in  all.  The 
condition  of  the  islanders  seemed  to  have  been  much  the  same  as 
when  we  went  there  two  years  before.  From  Captain  Digby's 
report,  it  appeared  to  Lord  Carnarvon  that  if  the  Tristan  group 
really  formed  part  of  the  Cape  Colony,  which  seemed  to  be  the 
case  from  Bishop  Gray  having  visited  it  as  part  of  his  diocese, 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Cape  Government  should  be  recognized ; 
and  it  might  be  well  that  certain  limited  magisterial  powers 
should  be  conferred  upon  Peter  Green,  and  perhaps  one  or  two 
others,  by  the  governor ;  and  he  wrote  to  Sir  Henry  Barkly  for 
information  and  suggestions.  Sir  Henry  Barkly  replied  that 
Tristan  d'Acunha  had  certainly  been  included  in  the  letters 
patent  constituting  the  see  of  Capetown,  but  that  on  the  crea- 
tion of  the  bishopric  of  St.  Helena  it  had  been  transferred  to 
that  diocese,  and  that  no  proclamation  or  other  evidence  could 
be  found  giving  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony  special  authority 
over  the  Tristan  group.  Moreover,  Sir  Henry  Barkly's  advisers 
reported  that,  in  the  present  state  of  information  relating  to  the 
connection  between  Tristan  d'Acunha  and  the  Cape  Colony, 
they  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  recommend  that  magisterial  pow- 
ers should  be  conferred  on  any  of  the  inhabitants  by  the  Cape 
Government. 

Lord  Carnarvon  then  gave  up  the  idea  of  attaching  Tristan 
to  the  Cape,  and  proposed  that  its  government  should  be  pro- 


166 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


vided  for  under  certain  rules,  such  as  exist  in  the  case  of  Nor- 
folk Island ;  one  or  two  magistrates  being  appointed  with  au- 
thority to  settle  small  disputes,  celebrate  marriages,  and  look  to 
the  maintenance  of  order.  It  was  provided  that  the  chief  mag- 
istrate should  communicate,  as  occasion  occurred,  with  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  for  the  Colonies,  and  any  graver  matters  would 
doubtless  be  adjusted  by  him  by  giving  special  powers  to  the 
captain  of  one  of  H.M.'s  ships.  The  Secretary  for  the  Colonies 
suggested  that  the  Admiralty  should  direct  the  officer  in  com- 
mand of  a  ship  likely  to  call  at  the  island  to  appoint  one  or 
two  magistrates  and  to  confer  with  them  as  to  the  rules  for 
their  government;  and  accordingly,  in  October,  1875,  II.M.S. 
Diamond  visited  Tristan,  and  Captain  Stanley  Bosanquet  for- 
warded a  very  full  and  entertaining  report  to  the  Admiralty. 
He  said  that  if  he  had  failed  in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of 
H.M.'s  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  it  was  because,  on  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  settlers,  he  was  unable  to  see  any  need  of 
establishing  rules  for  their  future  guidance.  He  again  took  a 
census  of  the  population,  which  remained  stationary  at  eighty- 
five,  and  it  appears  that  there  are  now  only  fifteen  males  of  the 
age  of  twenty -one  years  and  upward.  "  These,"  he  remarks, 
"  represent  the  physical  force,  and  I  may  also  say  the  intellect- 
ual, of  this  somewhat  unsophisticated  community,  although  I 
should  not  venture  to  assert  this  (superiority  of  the  males)  of 
any  more  highly  civilized  one ;"  and,  from  what  I  saw  of  the 
business  capacity  of  the  Tristan  young  ladies  and  their  excel- 
lent physical  development,  I  should  certainly  have  thought 
twice  before  venturing  to  assert  it  even  there.  "  The  families 
are  connected  by  the  ties  of  marriage,  and  their  interests  are 
identical.  They  have  certain  rules  of  their  own,  and  the  pres- 
ent senior  male  member  of  the  community,  Peter  Green,  is 
made  their  referee  if  necessary." 

Captain  Bosanquet  doubts  the  necessity  of  the  emigration  of 
any  of  the  settlers,  even  if  the  population  increase  considera- 


PtATE  XXXII  . 


36°  Jf' 

37] 

TRISTAN  DXCLHSTHA  GROUP 

TRISTAN  ISLAND  SURVEYED  BTCAPT^DENHAM  RN  1852 
INACCESSIBLE  AND  ^NIGHTINGALE  V??  BY  CAPT^NARES  RN  18 

/7.  /r/.O  .  Ls/7Si L.jL£L/V(s£./T  . 

Soundings  in  Fathoms 

0' 

10' 

ACCESSIBLE 

w 

^        *     -  South. 

65  \y 

20' 
30' 

465 

ZOO 

Stolt  tariff  I3 
Miuhe  I 

m 
\ 

13-  s 

0'  4 

c 

CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


167 


bly ;  lie  thinks  that  there  are  land  and  stock  enough  for  a  much 
larger  number.  He  says,  "  I  have  little  doubt  that  the  peculiar 
enjoyment  and  content  of  the  original  few  settlers  has  now 
to  a  great  extent  diminished.  It  depended  upon  ample  space, 
and  abundance,  and  undisturbed  possession.  Also,  this  and  the 
neighboring  islands  and  sea  abounded  with  seals,  sea-elephants, 
and  wild  goats,  which  were  easily  taken,  and  in  very  great  num- 
bers ;  and  there  was  an  extensive  traffic  for  the  few  with  the 
whale-ships  which  then  constantly  communicated.  With  the 
increase  of  the  inhabitants,  however,  their  unbounded  freedom 
was  curtailed,  as  there  were  more  people  who  had  claims  to  be 
respected ;  there  were  more  mouths  to  feed,  and  more  hands  to 
take  part  in  the  seal-hunting,  etc.,  and  to  share  in  the  traffic  en- 
suing therefrom." 

The  loss  of  the  traffic  with  the  whalers,  and  the  consequent 
scarcity  of  foreign  productions,  is  certainly  the  great  difficulty 
of  the  Tristaners;  but  I  doubt  if  even  that  is  so  great  as  they 
represent.  As  I  have  already  said,  from  eight  to  twelve  ships 
still  call  yearly ;  and  as  all  of  them  are  in  want  of  fresh  provis- 
ions, and  the  islanders  are  very  shrewd  at  a  bargain,  they  prob- 
ably might  easily  get  all  they  require.  They  seemed  to  us  to 
be  fully  alive  to  the  advantage  of  making  the  worst  of  things. 
Notwithstanding  his  satisfaction  with  the  existing  state  of  mat- 
ters, Captain  Bosanquet  makes  some  suggestions,  most  of  which 
have  been  concurred  in  by  the  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  al- 
though the  most  important — namely,  that  the  naval  officer  in 
command  of  the  South  African  station  should  be  ex  officio  gov- 
ernor of  the  island — seemed  open  to  so  many  objections  that  it 
has  not  been  adopted. 

A  proposal  of  Lord  Carnarvon's  to  give  two  hundred  pounds' 
worth  of  useful  presents  to  the  islanders  of  things  which  they 
can  not  easily  obtain  from  passing  ships  will  no  doubt  be  high- 
ly popular.  They  had,  it  seems,  represented  that  a  clergyman 
was  one  of  their  most  urgent  needs ;  an  educated  man,  clerical 


168 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  III. 


or  lay,  of  a  certain  stamp  among  them  would  be  an  enormous 
advantage ;  but  an  educated  man  of  another  stamp,  such  as 
they  were  much  more  likely  to  get,  would  be  very  much  the 
reverse. 

My  own  impression  is  that  it  would  have  been  just  as  well  to 
have  left  the  settlers  of  Tristan  d'Acunha  alone.  At  present 
there  is  a  general  feeling  of  equality,  and  their  arbiter  is  of 
their  own  choosing;  and  they  took  special  care  that  it  should 
be  fully  understood  that  their  deference  to  Peter  Green  was 
purely  voluntary.  I  should  fear  that  the  appointment  of  mag- 
istrates from  among  themselves  by  external  authority  may  give 
rise  to  all  kinds  of  jealousy  and  ill-will.  If  the  place  is  under- 
stood to  belong  to  Great  Britain  at  all,  it  is  no  doubt  important 
that,  in  such  a  case  as  that  of  the  Shenandoah,  they  should  be 
able  to  produce  evidence  to  that  effect.  The  Tristaners  of  the 
present  day  have  certainly  not  left  the  most  favorable  impres- 
sion on  my  mind.  They  are  by  no  means  ill  off ;  they  are  very 
shrewd  and  sufficiently  greedy ;  and  their  conduct  to  the  Stol- 
tenhoffs,  if  their  story  be  true,  which  we  have  never  had  any 
reason  to  doubt,  in  landing  surreptitiously  and  killing  the  last 
of  the  flock  of  goats  on  Inaccessible  Island,  if  not  actually  crim- 
inal, was,  to  say  the  least,  most  questionable. 

While  the  party  on  land  were  struggling  among  the  tussocks 
and  penguins,  and  gaining  an  experience  of  the  vigor  of  spon- 
taneous life,  animal  and  vegetable,  which  they  are  not  likely 
soon  to  forget,  the  ship  took  a  cruise  round  the  island  to  enable 
the  surveyors  to  put  in  the  coast-line ;  and  in  the  afternoon  the 
hauls'  of  the  dredge  were  taken  in  100  and  150  fathoms.  A 
large  quantity  of  things  were  procured  of  all  groups,  the  most 
prominent  a  fine  species  of  Primnoa,  many  highly  colored  Gor- 
gonice,  and  a  very  elegant  Mopsea  or  some  closely  allied  form. 
Lophohelia  prolifera  or  a  very  similar  species  was  abundant, 
associated  with  an  Amphihelia  and  a  fine  Coenocyathus.  Hy- 
droids  and  sponges  were  in  considerable  number,  tangled  in 


Barometer 


Plate  XXX  III.  Meteorological  Obser 
—    BiyMl)  Thermometer   IV 


The,  arrows  T*vd*yC€tte/         dzrcct^cn/  ofth>&  winds,  ancL 
^1    S  2       3       4-       5       6       7       8       910      il       12       13       14  15 


at 


1111 


^5 


5^ 


*4 


*E5 


3 


5E 


'fit 


1 1 


2™  hi 


if 


ions  for  the  month  of   November,  1873. 

Bulb  Thermometer  Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 

umbers  bencctth  its  /tree/  Ojccorctuvg  to  Hecui/i>r6's  seethe/ 

i7,  ,1.8,    l9i    ?,  ,^3,         ,2t5.  i2*    ?h  i^8,   i?i   ,y  .Antr 


i 


a 


3 


36 


Si 


la 


t  T 


Tit  t 


512 


122 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


169 


masses  with  calcareous  and  horny  bryozoa.  There  were  a  few 
star -fishes,  and  a  very  few  mollusca.  The  whole  assemblage 
resembled  a  good  deal  the  produce  of  a  haul  in  shallow  water 
off  the  Mediterranean  coast  of  Morocco. 

On  the  following  day  we  crossed  over,  sounding  and  dredg- 
ing on  our  way,  to  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  west  shore 
of  the  island  of  Tristan.  A  haul  in  1000  fathoms  gave  us, 
somewhat  to  our  surprise,  some  most  typical  samples  of  the 
common  Echinus  Flemingii,  along  with  Ophiomusium  Lymani 
and  Rhizocrinits.  We  dredged  a  second  time  as  we  were  n ear- 
ing Tristan  in  550  fathoms,  and  took  one  or  two  specimens  of 
a  species  of  Antedon,  some  corals  the  same  as  those  off  Night- 
ingale Island,  and  a  quantity  of  bryozoa.  In  the  evening  we 
set  all  plain  sail,  and,  with  a  favoring  breeze  from  the  north- 
west, proceeded  on  our  voyage  toward  the  Cape 

On  the  20th  of  October  we  sounded  in  2100  fathoms,  on  hard 
ground,  with  a  bottom  temperature  of  1°*1  C,  and  put  the 
dredge  over.  The  dredge  got  entangled  at  the  bottom,  and 
was  disengaged  with  some  difficulty.  It  came  up  in  the  even- 
ing quite  empty,  and  we  made  all  plain  sail  and  proceeded  on 
our  way. 

On  the  21st  the  weather  changed,  the  wind  dropping  round 
to  the  S.S.E.,  and  blowing  very  cold  with  force  =  8.  We  ran 
on  under  double-reefed  topsails,  and  during  that  day  and  the 
next  made  nearly  350  miles. 

On  the  23d  we  put  the  dredge  over  early,  and  veered  to  3000 
fathoms ;  and  after  breakfast  we  sounded  in  2550  fathoms,  with 
a  bottom  of  reddish  clay  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  0°*7  C, 
the  position  of  the  sounding  being  lat.  35°  59'  S.,  long.  1°  25' 
E.  The  dredge  contained  little  save  some  scarlet  caridid  and 
peneid  shrimps;  but  two  small  star -fishes  gave  evidence  that 
it  had  reached  the  bottom. 

On  the  25th  we  sounded  in  2650  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of 
reddish  clay,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  1°*0  C. ;  and  on  the 

II.— 12 


170 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


27th  in  2325  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  gray  ooze  with  nod- 
ules of  black  manganese,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  0o,47  C. 
The  distance  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  at  noon  was  138 
miles.  A  series  of  temperature  soundings  were  taken  at  inter- 
vals of  ten  fathoms  from  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  a  hundred 
fathoms  with  the  following  results : 


Surface  

  13°-4C. 

60  fathoms 

 13-4 

70  " 

20  "   

  13-3 

80 

30  "   

  12-8 

90 

40  "   

 11  '6 

100  " 

50  "   

 11  -3 

11° 

2  0. 

11 

1 

11 

•1 

11 

•o 

10 

•9 

On  the  28th  we  stopped  at  7  a.m.,  and  sounded  in  1250  fath- 
oms with  a  bottom  of  gray  mud,  Table  Mountain  and  the  range 
of  hills  above  Simon's  Bay  being  fairly  visible  on  the  north- 
eastern horizon.  We  took  a  series  of  temperatures  at  intervals 
of  ten  fathoms  down  to  a  hundred.  At  noon  we  took  a  second 
series,  fifteen  nautical  miles  to  the  south-west  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  we  found  that  in  the  interval  we  had  passed 
into  the  loop  of  the  Agulhas  Current,  which  curls  round  the 
Cape  close  to  the  land.  The  contrast  between  the  two  series  is 
remarkable. 


Depth  in  Fathoms. 

7  A.M. 

Noon. 

Surface. 

14°-6  C. 

16°-7  C. 

10 

14  -1 

17  -1 

20 

14  -5 

16  -8 

30 

14  -4 

16  -4 

40 

13  -8 

15  -8 

50 

12  -5 

14  -7 

60 

12  -3 

13  -9 

70 

11  -6 

13  -3 

80 

11  -6 

12  -8 

90 

11  -7 

12  -2 

100 

11  -6 

11  -o 

The  temperature  of  the  air  likewise  rose  perceptibly,  the 
thermometer  in  the  shade  indicating  at  noon  15°  C,  nearly 
three  degrees  above  the  average  of  the  same  hour  during  the 
previous  week. 


CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


171 


At  2  p.m.  we  rounded  the  Cape,  and  signaled  our  number 
to  H.M.S.  Rattlesnake,  just  returned  from  the  scene  of  the 
Ashantee  war;  and  an  hour  later  we  cast  anchor  in  Simon's 
Bay,  and  bid  farewell  for  many  a  long  day  to  the  friendly  wa- 
ters of  the  Atlantic. 


PenguiDS  at  Home. 


172 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  III. 


APPENDIX  A. 


Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Baliia  and  the  Cape  of 

Good  Hope. 


.t/5 

.03 

co'W 

£j « 

o 

Dppth  in  Ffitnoms. 

o  o 

tion 

o 
CO 

tion 

99° 

00 

tion 

35° : 

CO 

o^ 

03 

CS 

bi 

03 

bi 

cS 

bi 

3  .  bi 

tfl  * 

s 

O 

K-J  S 

hJ 

o 
k! 

O 

>Jh3 

Surface. 

23° 

•3  C. 

20° 

•6  C. 

18° 

•3  C. 

14° 

•4  C. 

13° 

•9  C. 

12°  -8  C. 

25 

13 

•9 

50 

13 

•9 

75 

19 

•b 

13 

•4 

100 

17 

•3 

15 

•b 

16 

•b 

12* 

■9 

13 

•o 

200 

11 

•o 

12 

•l 

11 

•6 

10 

•o 

7  "'7 

300 

6 

•6 

7 

•5 

9 

•2 

6 

•4 

400 

4 

•2 

5 

•1 

5 

•4 

4 

•3 

500 

3 

•5 

3 

•7 

4 

•0 

3 

•6 

600 

2 

•4 

2 

•8 

700 

2 

•6 

2 

•8 

2 

•s 

2  ';6 

800 

2 

•8 

2 

•6 

900 

2 

•9 

2 

•5 

2 

•7 

1000 

2 

•3 

2 

•5 

2 

•5 

1100 

2 

•0 

2  V3 

1200 

2 

•8 

2 

•4 

1300 

1 

•7 

2 

•3 

2  '-4 

1400 

1 

•9 

2 

•2 

1500 

2 

•2 

2 

•6 

Bottom  Tern-) 
perature.  j 

0°'6 

0°-8 

0° 

•7 

1° 

•1 

1° 

■3 

l°-6 

Depth  

2150 

2350 

2275 

2050 

1900 

2025 

w 

w 

M 

CO  O- 

CO  gj 

00 

Jot- 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

Co  o 

.2  £5  2 

Co 

.2 10 

o  £ 

Jg 

oo 

.2  CO 

So  o 
•43  CO 

-3  .  tb 

1" 

si 

03 

bi 

bi 

■2  .  bi 

w  J :  c 

03  O 
J  1-3 

c 

o 

CD  * 

c 
>3 

c 

o 

1-3 

00  J 1  G 
o3  0 

i-3i-3 

Surface. 

12°-0  C. 

12° 

•2  C. 

13° -4  C. 

13° 

•4C. 

13c 

•4  C. 

14° '6  C. 

25 
50 

13 

•3 

18" 

•4 

11 

•3 

12  -5 

75 

11  -6 

100 

9-1 

11* 

•2 

13 

•b 

13* 

•3 

10 

•7 

200 

9 

•5 

11 

•o 

10 

•4 

7 

•7 

300 

5  VS 

6 

•2 

6 

•8 

6 

•7 

4 

•9 

400 

3  -9 

4 

•o 

4 

•3 

4 

•3 

3 

•1 

500 

3  -4 

3 

•4 

3 

•5 

3 

•3 

2 

•9 

600 

2  -6 

2 

•7 

700 

2 

•6 

a 

•6 

800 

900 

2 

■5 

1000 

1100 

2 

•3 

1200 

1300 

*2 

•2 

"a 

•2 

1400 

1500 

2 

■b 

2 

•b 

Bottom  Tern-) 
perature.  j 

1° 

■1 

0C 

•7 

1° 

•o 

0° 

•5 

Depth  

2100 

2550 

2650 

2325 

CHAP.  III.] 


BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE. 


173 


APPENDIX  B. 

Table  of  Serial  Soundings  down  to  200  Fathoms,  taken  behveen  Bahia 
and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


.39. 
35^'  S. 

139. 
35^  S. 

o 

Depth  in 
Fathoms. 

Station  1 
Lat.    35°  ! 
Long.  1°  J 

Station  ) 
Lat.    36°  : 
Long.  8° 

Station  1 
Lat.  35° 
Long.  16° 

Depth  in 
Fathoms. 

Station  1 
Lat.    35°  : 
Long.  16° 

Station  1 
Lat.  35° 
Long.  17°  . 

Station  1 

Surface. 

13°  '4  C. 

13° -4  C. 

13°'4C. 

Surface. 

13° -4  C. 

14°-6  C. 

16°-7C. 

50 

13  -3 

13  '4 

11  -3 

10 

13  -4 

14  -7 

17  -1 

100 

13  -0 

13  '3 

10  -7 

20 

13  -3 

14  '5 

16  '8 

150 

12  -3 

11  -7 

8  -4 

30 

12  '8 

14  '4 

16  -4 

200 

11  -o 

10  -4 

7  -7 

40 

11  -6 

13  -8 

15  '8 

250 

8  -7 

8  -2 

6  -6 

50 

11  -3 

12  -5 

14  -7 

300 

6  -S 

6  '7 

4  -9 

60 

11  -2 

12  -3 

13  -9 

350 

5  -7 

5  -2 

3  -6 

70 

11  -1 

11  '6 

13  -3 

400 

4  '3 

4  -3 

3  -1 

80 

11  -1 

11  -6 

12  -8 

450 

4  -0 

3  -7 

3  -0 

90 

11  -o 

11  '7 

12  '2 

500 

3  '5 

3  '3 

2  -9 

100 

10  -9 

11  -6 

11  -o 

174 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  hi. 


APPENDIX  C. 


Table  of  Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  between  Bahia  and  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  during  the  Months  of  September  and  October,  1873. 


Date, 
1873. 

Latitude 
South. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (6)  at 
which  the 
Water  was 
taken. 

Temperature 
(0  at  6. 

Temperature 

(,«')  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°-5. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'rns. 

Fathoms. 

Sept.  26 

13° 

45 

3i  59' 

Surface. 

25°  *1C. 

25° 'OC. 

1*02514 

1  -02776 

1-02512 

2T 

14 

51 

37  1 

25  "3 

25  *6 

1  -024S7 

1-02770 

1-02498 

28 

17 

7 

36  50 

" 

24  "7 

24  "9 

1*02517 

1-02775 

1-02520 

29 

19 

6 

35  40 

23  "6 

24  "0 

1  *02530 

1-02761 

1-02550 

30 

20 

13 

35  19 

2150 

23  "4 

24  "3 

1*02518 

1*02757 

1-02546 

50 

23  "9 

1  *02509 

1*02736 

100 

17  *3 

23  "9 

1*02509 

1 '02736 

1-02690 

200 

11  *0 

23  -8 

1*02736 

1-02S34 

300 

6  -6 

24  '8 

1*02328 

1-0255S 

1-02712 

400 

4  '2 

23  '9 

1*0255S 

1-02741 

Oct.  1 

22 

15 

35  37 

Surface. 

22  "8 

22  -9 

1 -02547 

1*02774 

1 -0254S 

2 

24 

43 

34  17 

" 

21  *0 

21  '5 

1*02562 

1*02717 

1  -02574 

3 

26 

15 

32  56 

21  -0 

21  -6 

1*02546 

1*02703 

1-02560 

4 

21  -4 

1*02552 

1*02704 

50 

21  -7 

1*02523 

1*02682 

100 

15 -d 

21  -5 

1*02496 

1-02649 

1 '02660 

200 

12  -1 

21  -5 

1*02454 

1-02608 

1-02679 

300 

7  -5 

21  -6 

1*02416 

1-02573 

1-02719 

cc 

400 

5  -1 

21  -5 

1-02402 

1-02554 

1*02727 

2350 

Bottom. 

0  -8 

21  -5 

1*02552 

1-02706 

1*02916? 

4 

27' 

43 

31 ' '  3 

Surface. 

19  -4 

20  I 

1-0258S 

1-02702 

1-02603 

5 

29 

1 

28  59 

18  '9 

19  -4 

1*02573 

1-02690 

1-02601 

6 

29 

35 

28  9 

2275 

18  '3 

19  -1 

1*02575 

1-02665 

1*02593 

100 

16  -0 

18  -5 

1*02555 

1-02629 

1-02616 

200 

11  -6 

IS  -5 

1-02528 

1-02602 

1-02683 

300 

9  '2 

18  -6 

1*02489 

1-02565 

1-02687 

400 

5  -4 

18  -7 

1*02462 

1-02540 

1-02715 

1000 

2  "5 

18  -7 

1*02494 

1-02572 

1-02767 

7 

29* 

11 

26'  25 

Surface. 

18  -3 

18  '7 

1-02576 

1*02654 

1-025S1 

8 

31 

22 

26  54 

16  '6 

16  *8 

1*02608 

1-02638 

1-02610 

9 

33 

57 

24  33 

14  -8 

15  -4 

1-02652 

1*02648 

1-02660 

10 

35 

25 

23  40 

14  -6 

15  '3 

1*02615 

1-02609 

1-02630 

100 

13  -3 

15  '9 

1*02605 

1-02613 

1*02659 

200 

10  -2 

15  -6 

1*02570 

1-02571 

1*02676 

300 

6  -4 

16  -0 

1*02532 

1-02543 

1*02703 

400 

4  -2 

16  -0 

1*02535 

1-02541 

1-02725 

2050 

Bottom. 

1  -1 

15  '9 

1*02572 

1-02580 

1-027S4 

11 

35* 

41 

20  55 

Surface. 

13  '9 

15  -2 

1*02624 

1-02617 

1-0264S 

a 

1900 

Bottom. 

1  '3 

14  -6 

1-0259S 

1-02577 

1-027S6 

12 

36* 

10 

17  "52 

Surface. 

12  -7 

13  -2 

1*02640 

1-02590 

1-02648 

13 

36 

7 

14  27 

12  -0 

12  -3 

1*02653 

1-02585 

1-02658 

14 

36 

12 

12  18 

12  -8 

13  -0 

1*02660 

1-02606 

1*02661 

2025 

Bottom. 

1  -6 

11  -5 

1-02656 

1-02573 

1*02775 

19 

37' 

*5 

9  "40 

Surface. 

12  -0 

12  -5 

1-02676 

1-02612 

1*02684 

20 

36 

43 

7  13 

12  -2 

13  -0 

1-02660 

1-02606 

1*02677 

100 

11  '2 

13  -9 

1-02623 

1-025S6 

1*02676 

200 

9  -5 

13  -9 

1*02605 

1-02563 

1-02685 

300 

6  -2 

13  -9 

1-02579 

1-02542 

1-02703 

it 

400 

4  -0 

13  -8 

1  -02574 

1-02535 

1-02722 

chap,  in.]  BAHIA  TO  THE  CAPE.  175 


Date, 
1873. 

Latitude 
South. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (6)  at 
which  the 
Water  was 
taken. 

Temperature 

2 

Temperature 

(<')  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°-5. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 

thorns 

Fathoms 

Oct.  20 



2100 

Bottom. 

1° 

1C. 

14o,0C. 

1-02615 

1*02580 

1-02784 

22 

35°  57' 

0°  15' 

Surface. 

13  • 

6 

13  '8 

1' 02650 

1-02611 

1-02650 

23 

35  59 

1  26  E. 

13  • 

4 

13  '6 

1*02669 

1-02626 

1-02669 

100 

13  ' 

0 

13  '2 

1-02645 

1-02594 

1-02646 

200 

11  • 

0 

13  "2 

1-02635 

1-02584 

1-02677 

300 

6  • 

8 

13  '4 

1-02605 

1-02558 

1  02711 

400 

4  ' 

3 

13  -0 

1-02600 

1-02547 

1-02729 

2550 

Bottom. 

0  • 

7 

12  -8 

1-02633 

1-02574 

1-02782 

24 

36  2 

5  27 

Surface. 

12  ' 

2 

13  -0 

1-02640 

1-02586 

1-02656 

25 

36  22 

8  12 

15  ' 

0 

15  *2 

1-02629 

1-02621 

1-02630 

2650 

Bottom. 

1  ' 

0 

13  -5 

1-02614 

1-02570 

1-02777 

26 

35  59 

11  '  43 

10.30  a.m. 

Surface. 

15  • 

6 

15  '6 

1-02653 

1-02654 

1-02654 

4.30p.m. 

14  • 

6 

14  '7 

1-02669 

1-02650 

1-02670 

S.  00  p.m. 

13  • 

3 

12  -9 

1-02668 

1-02613 

1-02660 

2T 

35  *35 

16""  8 

13  • 

7 

13  -7 

1-02644 

1-02603 

1-02644 

2325 

Bottom. 

0  -47 

14  -0 

1-02605 

1-02571 

1-02780 

28 

35°  "0 

17"  57 

11.30  a.m. 

Surface. 

16  ' 

7 

17  -1 

1-02577 

1-02615 

1-02583 

',| 

2.05  p.m. 

u 

15  • 

0 

15  '9 

1-02602 

1-02610 

1-02622 

20 

16  • 

8 

15  '6 

1-02614 

1-02615 

1-02581 

50 

14  • 

7 

15  '3 

1-02612 

1-02605 

1-02622 

176 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  iv. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 

The  Strait  of  Magellan.— Dredging  in  Shallow  Water.— The  Falkland  Islands.— Their 
Physical  Features. — The  Town  of  Stanley.— The  Products  and  Commerce  of  the 
Falklands.  —  The  Balsam -bog.  —  The  Tussock  -  grass. — The  Vegetation  of  the 
Falkland  Islands. — A  Peculiar  Mode  of  Reproduction  among  the  Echinoderms. — 
"Stone  Rivers." — The  Temperature  Section  between  the  Falklands  and  the  Mouth 
of  the  River  Plate. — Montevideo. — Low  Temperatures  between  Montevideo  and 
Tristan  d'Acunha. — Meridional  Section  along  the  Central  Ridge  of  the  Atlantic. 
— Ascension. — Physical  Features. — An  Island  under  Naval  Discipline. — Voyage 
to  Porto  Praya  and  Porto  Grande. — Soundings  in  the  Eastern  Trough  of  the  At- 
lantic.— Vigo  Bay. — Arrival  at  Spithead. 

Appendix  A. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  the  Falkland  Islands  and 
Tristan  d'Acunha. 

Appendix  B. — Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Tristan  d'Acunha  and  the 
Acores. 

Appendix  C. — Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  fathoms  taken 

in  the  South  and  North  Atlantic  in  the  Year  1876. 
Appendix  D. — Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  on  the  homeward  voyage  between 

the  Falkland  Islands  and  Portsmouth. 
Appendix  E. — List  of  the  Stations  in  the  Atlantic  at  which  Observations  were  taken 

in  the  Year  18*76. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  January,  1876,  the  Challenger 
passed  through  the  "first  narrows"  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan, 
wind  and  tide  in  her  favor,  at  the  rate  of  about  seventeen  knots 
an  hour ;  shortly  after  midday  she  rounded  Cape  Virgins,  and 
a  long,  uneasy  swell  gave  us  somewhat  unpleasant  evidence  of 
the  most  welcome  fact  that  we  were  once  more  yielding  to  the 
pulses  of  the  broad  Atlantic. 

For  the  previous  three  weeks  we  had  been  creeping  down 
inside  the  islands  from  the  Gulf  of  Penas,  through  the  Messier 
and  the  Sarmiento  Channel  and  the  Magellan  Strait,  sounding 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


177 


and  trawling  nearly  every  day ;  and  we  had  amassed  a  splendid 
series  of  characteristic  Patagonian  forms  from  depths  of  60  to 
400  fathoms.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  we  sounded  in  55 
fathoms,  about  20  miles  due  east  of  Cape  Virgins,  with  a  bot- 
tom of  blackish  sand  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  8°*8  C. 

The  trawl  brought  up  a  large  number  of  a  wonderfully  hand- 
some Euryale,  the  disk  in  some  of  the  specimens  between  three 
and  four  inches  across.  We  put  a  number  of  these  great  disks 
into  absolute  alcohol,  to  harden  the  tissues  at  once  and  preserve 
them  in  the  best  condition  for  dissection.  There  were  also 
some  very  large  simple  Ascidians  {Cynthia  gigas)  from  30  to 
40  centims.  long,  and  with  the  ganglion  —  usually  a  minute 
body  not  at  once  detected,  lying  between  the  two  orifices — a 
well-defined  gray  mass  nearly  as  large  as  a  pea.  A  viviparous 
ophiurid  occurred  in  considerable  numbers,  which  we  had  al- 
ready found  in  shallow  water  off  Kerguelen  Island.  I  shall 
give  an  account  of  its  singular  mode  of  reproduction  when  de- 
scribing the  shallow- water  dredgings  at  the  Falkland  Islands, 
in  which  it  occurred  plentifully.  On  the  following  day  we 
trawled  in  70  fathoms  about  midway  between  Cape  Virgins 
and  the  Jason  Islands.  Animals  were  still  abundant,  but  most 
of  them  of  known  forms.  A  pretty  little  Chirodota,  which  ad- 
hered in  numbers  to  the  meshes  of  the  trawl,  was  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  on  account  of  its  unusually  large  and  numer- 
ous wheels.  The  bottom  was  a  black  sand,  and  the  bottom 
temperature  7°*8  C. 

The  22d  was  a  wretched  day,  with  cold  rain  and  fog  and  a 
disagreeable  swell.  We  sounded  in  the  morning  in  110  fath- 
oms, and  put  over  the  trawl,  but  it  came  up  empty ;  owing  to 
a  strong  current  setting  northward,  it  had  probably  never 
reached  the  bottom.  We  had  hoped  to  have  reached  Stanley 
Harbor  before  night,  but  during  most  of  the  day  the  fog  was 
so  thick  that  it  was  unsafe  to  run  toward  the  land.  In  the 
afternoon  we  sighted  the  Jason  Islands,  and  in  the  evening  it 


178 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


cleared  up,  and  we  had  a  good  view  of  the  little  group — Jason 
West,  Jason  East,  Grand  Jason,  Steeple  Jason,  and  Elephant  Ja- 
son— rocky  islets  rising  abruptly  from  the  sea.  We  had  a  fine 
run  during  the  night  along  the  north  coast  of  the  Falklands ; 
at  half -past  five  next  morning  Cape  Bougainville  was  seen  due 
south  of  us.  The  weather  was  showery  and  squally,  with  a 
strong  southerly  breeze,  but  the  land  became  more  distinct 
during  the  forenoon  as  we  passed  the  entrance  of  Berkeley 
Sound,  and  some  rather  high  hills  could  be  seen  at  intervals 
between  the  showers.  At  two  o'clock  we  passed  Pembroke 
Light -house,  and  slipped  quietly  between  the  headlands  into 
the  little  land-locked  bay  which  forms  the  harbor  of  Stanley, 
the  present  seat  of  government  of  the  Falkland  Islands. 

At  a  first  glance  these  islands  are  not  attractive,  and  I  doubt 
if  they  improve  greatly  on  acquaintance.  The  land  is  gener- 
ally low  and  flat,  but  it  rises  here  and  there  into  ridges,  the 
highest  a  little  over  2000  feet  in  height.  The  ground  is  dark 
in  color,  a  mixture  of  brown  and  dull  green;  the  ridges  are 
pale  gray,  with  lines  of  outcrop  of  hard  white  quartzite,  like 
dilapidated  stone -walls,  at  different  levels  along  the  strike. 
The  vegetation  is  scanty,  and,  what  little  there  is,  very  ineffect- 
ive. There  is  nothing  of  a  higher  dignity  than  an  herb,  the 
nearest  approach  to  a  shrub  being  a  rank  form  of  groundsel 
(Senecio  candicans),  with  large  button-like  yellow  flowers  and 
very  white  woolly  foliage,  which  runs  up  along  the  shore  and 
in  sheltered  nooks  inland  to  a  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  and 
a  pretty  Veronica  (V.  decussata),  which  is,  however,  indigenous 
on  the  west  island  only,  and  is  introduced  in  the  gardens  about 
Port  Stanley. 

Above  Stanley  Harbor  the  land  slopes  up  for  a  hundred  feet 
or  so  to  a  low  ridge,  beyond  which  what  is  called  there  the 
"  Camp "  (champ)  extends  nearly  level  for  many  miles,  with 
slightly  raised  stretches  of  pasture  and  wide  patches  of  peat 
and  dark  boggy  tarns.     The  little  town  of  Stanley  is  built 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


179 


along  the  shore,  and  stretches  a  little  way  up  the  slope.  It  is 
built  mainly  of  square,  white,  gray-slated  houses,  and  puts  one 
greatly  in  mind  of  one  of  the  newer  small  towns  in  the  Scottish 
West  Highlands  or  in  one  of  the  Hebrides.  The  resemblance 
is  heightened  by  the  smell  of  peat -smoke,  for  peat  is  almost 
universally  burned,  as  there  is  no  wood,  and  coal  costs  three 
pounds  a  ton.  The  Government-house  is  very  like  a  Shetland 
or  Orkney  manse,  stone-built,  slated,  and  gray,  without  the  least 
shelter.  In  the  square  grass  paddock  surrounded  by  a  low  wTall, 
stretching  from  the  house  to  the  shore,  a  very  ornamental  flock 
of  upland  geese  were  standing  and  preening  their  feathers  the 
first  time  we  called  there.  This  tarn  en  ess  of  the  sea-birds  is 
still  most  remarkable  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  and  a  strange 
contrast  to  their  extreme  wildness  in  the  Strait  of  Magellan: 
there  we  stalked  the  kelp  goose  (Chloephaga  antarctica)  and 
the  steamer -duck  (Mieropterus  cinereus)  day  after  day,  with 
great  labor  and  but  little  success,  finding  great  difficulty  in 
getting  even  within  long  range  of  them ;  while  in  the  Falk- 
lands  the  same  species  were  all  about,  standing  on  the  shore 
within  stone's- throw,  or  diving  or  fishing  quietly  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  boats.  I  was  told  that  they  are  not  now  nearly 
so  tame,  however,  as  they  were  some  years  ago.  Almost  every 
evening  we  met  some  one  coming  to  the  settlement  with  a 
string  of  upland  geese  for  the  pot,  and  I  suppose  it  is  begin- 
ning to  dawn  upon  the  poor  birds  that  their  new  neighbors 
are  not  so  harmless  as  they  look.  Very  likely  it  may  take 
some  generations  of  experience  to  make  them  thoroughly 
wary,  and  the  difference  between  the  birds  of  the  Islands 
and  those  of  the  Strait  may  probably  be,  that  while  the  for- 
mer have  been  safe  in  their  primeval  solitude  up  to  within 
a  recent  period,  the  latter  have  been  selecting  themselves  for 
ages  on  their  capacity  for  eluding  the  craft  of  hungry  Pata- 
gonians  and  Fuegians. 

The  town  is  clean  and  well  kept,  and  even  the  smallest  houses 


180 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


are  tidy  and  have  a  well-to-do  look.  Many  of  the  houses  be- 
longing to  the  agents  of  the  Falkland  Islands  Company  and  to 
the  representatives  of  several  private  firms  have  very  pretty 
greenhouses  attached  to  them,  the  gay  groups  of  fuchsias  and 
pelargoniums  of  all  the  best  home  varieties  contrasting  pleas- 
antly with  the  desolation  outside.  The  Government  barrack, 
occupied  by  an  officer  and  a  company  of  marines,  is  rather  an 
imposing  structure,  with  a  square  tower,  in  the  middle  of  the 
town ;  and  there  is  a  neat  little  Episcopal  church. 

The  Falkland  Islands  were  first  seen  by  Davis  in  the  year 
1592,  and  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  sailed  along  their  north  shore 
in  1594.  In  1598,  Sebald  de  Wert,  a  Dutchman,  visited  them, 
and  called  them  the  Sebald  Islands,  a  name  which  they  still 
bear  on  some  of  the  Dutch  maps.  Captain  Strong  sailed 
through  between  the  two  principal  islands  in  1690,  and  called 
the  passage  Falkland  Sound.  In  IT 63,  the  islands  were  taken 
possession  of  by  the  French,  who  established  a  colony  at  Port 
Louis;  they  were,  however,  expelled  by  the  Spaniards  in  1767 
or  1768.  In  1761,  Commodore  Byron  took  possession,  on  the 
part  of  England,  on  the  ground  of  prior  discovery,  and  his  doing 
so  was  nearly  the  cause  of  a  war  between  England  and  Spain, 
both  countries  having  armed  fleets  to  contest  the  barren  sover- 
eignty. In  1771,  however,  Spain  yielded  the  islands  to  Great 
Britain  by  convention.  Not  having  been  actually  colonized  by 
us,  the  republic  of  Buenos  Ayres  claimed  the  islands  in  1820, 
and  formed  a  settlement  at  the  old  Port  Louis,  which  promised 
to  be  fairly  successful ;  but,  owing  to  some  misunderstanding 
with  the  Americans,  it  was  destroyed  by  the  latter  in  1831. 
After  all  these  vicissitudes,  the  British  flag  was  once  more 
hoisted  at  Port  Louis  in  1833,  and  since  that  time  the  Falkland 
Islands  have  been  a  regular  British  colony,  under  a  governor. 
The  group  was  called  by  the  French  the  Malouines,  from  the 
inhabitants  of  St.  Maloes,  whom  they  imagine  to  have  been 
their  first  discoverers  ;  and  the  Spanish  name,  the  Malvinas,  the 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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181 


most  euphonious  of  them  all,  is  the  one  still  mostly  in  use  by 
their  neighbors  of  South  America. 

The  islands  are  about  a  hundred  in  number,  but  only  two  of 
them  are  of  any  size.  They  lie  between  the  parallels  of  51° 
and  52°  45'  S.  and  the  meridians  of  57°  20'  and  61°  46'  W. 
The  climate  is  very  miserable,  considering  that  the  latitude  cor- 
responds with  that  of  Middlesex ;  for,  though  the  thermometer 
rarely  falls  in  winter  much  below  the  freezing-point,  it  rarely 
rises  in  summer  much  above  18°*5  C. ;  and  fog  and  rain  are  so 
constant,  and  sunshine  so  scarce,  that  wheat  will  not  ripen, 
barley  and  oats  can  scarcely  be  said  to  do  so,  and  the  common 
English  vegetables  will  not  produce  seed  in  the  gardens.  Still 
the  colony  appears  to  be  very  healthy,  the  inhabitants  seem  to 
get  thoroughly  accustomed  to  their  moist,  chilly  surroundings, 
and  the  only  "  pale  maidens  "  to  be  seen  are  the  drooping  deli- 
cate flowers  of  Sisyrinchium  filifolium,  which  cover  the  camp 
round  Stanley  in  early  spring,  and  have  earned  that  pretty 
sobriquet.  Of  late  years  the  industry  of  the  Falkland  Islands 
has  been  developing  most  rapidly.  It  has  been  found  that  the 
pasture  is  even  more  suitable  for  sheep  than  for  cattle ;  and  in 
1872  the  Falkland  Islands  Company  alone  had  a  flock  of  from 
forty  to  flfty  thousand  of  the  best  English  breeds,  a  number 
which  has  since  greatly  increased.  The  wool  is  said  to  be  re- 
markably fine  in  quality.  In  various  parts  of  the  islands  the 
cattle,  although  now  nominally  belonging  to  some  proprietor 
or  lessee,  are  nearly  wild  ;  and  the  skill  shown  by  the  Buenos- 
Ayrean  Guachos  in  hunting  them  down  and  capturing  them 
with  the  bolas  is  very  remarkable.  The  Scottish  shepherds, 
many  of  whom  have  settled  in  the  islands  of  late  years,  are, 
however,  rapidly  becoming  as  expert  as  their  less  civilized 
predecessors.  A  wild  dog  was  common  on  both  islands  some 
years  ago,  but  on  the  east  island  it  is  now  nearly  exterminated. 

On  the  day  of  our  arrival,  Captain  Thomson  and  I  paid  our 
respects  to  the  governor,  Colonel  D'Arcy,  and  we  found  him 


182 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


greatly  interested  in  our  visit,  owing  to  a  report  which  had 
reached  Stanley  that  some  seams  of  graphite  and  workable  beds 
of  coal  had  been  found  at  Port  Sussex,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
island.  Although  from  the  little  I  had  seen  and  read  of  the 
geology  of  the  islands,  and  still  more  from  the  appearance  of 
the  specimens  shown  me  by  Colonel  D'Arcy,  I  felt  pretty  well 
assured  that  the  quest  would  be  fruitless,  to  satisfy  the  gov- 
ernor and  the  agent  of  the  Falkland  Islands  Company  I  asked 
Mr.  Moseley,  who  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  seeing  more 
of  the  country,  to  ride  across  and  ascertain  the  true  state  of 
affairs.  His  observations  justified  our  previous  opinion.  The 
whole  of  the  east  island,  and  probably  the  greater  part  of  the 
west  island  also,  consists  of  sedimentary  rocks  of  paleozoic  age  ; 
in  the  low  grounds,  clay-slate  and  soft  sandstone,  and  on  the 
ridges  hardened  sandstone  passing  into  the  conspicuous  white 
quartzites.  The  beds  of  so-called  coal  were  simply  very  bitu- 
minous beds  among  the  clay-slates,  sometimes  becoming  a  sort 
of  culm,  which  might  possibly  answer  to  mix  with  coal  and 
burn  in  a  smithy  fire,  like  the  bituminous  slates  in  the  Bala 
series  of  Tyrone  and  Dumfriesshire,  but  which  could  never  be 
worked  with  advantage.  The  graphite  was  only  the  blackest 
samples  of  the  same  material. 

Mr.  Moseley  brought  back  a  fine  lot  of  fossils  from  the  sand- 
stone, the  beds  and  their  contents  having  very  much  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ferruginous  sandstones  of  May  Hill  or  Girvan. 
The  species  of  Orthis,  Atrypa,  and  Spirifer  are  different ;  and 
as  there  are  no  graptolites  in  the  schists,  it  is  probable  that  the 
whole  series  belongs  to  a  somewhat  later  period,  possibly  the 
base  of  the  Devonians.  But  if  Mr.  Moseley  did  not  find  coal, 
he  brought  home,  slung  at  his  saddle-bow,  what  was  of  much 
greater  interest  to  us — the  skull  and  a  great  part  of  the  skeleton 
of  a  rare  little  whale  belonging  to  the  genus  Xiphius. 

The  Falkland  Islands  consist  of  the  older  paleozoic  rocks, 
Lower  Devonian,  or  Upper  Silurian,  slightly  metamorphosed 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


183 


and  a  good  deal  crumpled  and  distorted.  It  is  entirely  con- 
trary to  our  experience  that  coal  of  any  value  should  be  found 
in  such  beds.  Galena  may  occur  in  the  quartzites,  but  proba- 
bly in  no  great  quantity ;  and  there  is  no  positive  reason  why 
gold  may  not  be  found,  although  the  beds  have  scarcely  the 
character  of  auriferous  quartz. 

On  our  second  visit  to  the  town  our  eyes  were  refreshed  by 
the  vision  of  a  bishop;  not  a  bishop  blunt  of  speech  and  care- 
less of  externals,  as  so  hard-working  a  missionary  among  the 
Fuegians  and  Patagonians  might  well  afford  to  be,  but  a  bishop 
gracious  in  manner  and  perfect  in  attire,  who  would  have  seemed 
more  in  harmony  with  his  surroundings  in  the  atmosphere  of 
Windsor  or  St.  James's.  We  had  great  pleasure  in  the  society 
of  Bishop  Stirling  during  our  stay  at  Stanley.  Although  he 
takes  his  title  from  the  Falklands,  his  diocese  is  so  large — ex- 
tending round  the  whole  of  the  southern  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica— that  his  visits  to  Stanley  are  somewhat  rare ;  and  we  owed 
the  pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance  to  an  accident  which 
had  befallen  his  little  missionary  schooner,  the  repair  of  which 
he  was  superintending.  He  is  a  most  active  and  zealous  pastor, 
and  greatly  beloved  by  his  scattered  flock.  A  great  part  of  his 
time  is  spent  in  Fuegia,  where  he  has  succeeded  in  establishing 
a  half -civilized  missionary  station,  and  it  was  most  interesting 
to  hear  him  talk  of  his  strange  experiences  among  perhaps  the 
most  primitive  race  in  the  world.  Walking  over  the  breezy 
" Camp"  of  the  Falklands  with  Dr.  Stirling,  one  could  not  help 
thinking  that  his  great  influence  in  these  remote  regions  might 
to  some  extent  be  referred  to  the  almost  exaggerated  care  with 
which  he  maintains  the  culture  and  refinement  of  a  gentleman 
and  the  dignity  of  the  ecclesiastical  office. 

Two  vegetable  productions  of  the  Falklands,  the  balsam-bog 
and  the  tussock-grass,  have  been  objects  of  curiosity  and  inter- 
est ever  since  the  first  accounts  of  the  islands  reached  us.  In 
many  places  the  low  ground  looks  from  a  little  distance  as  if  it 


184 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


were  thickly  scattered  over  with  large  gray  bowlders,  hemi- 
spherical or  oval,  three  or  four  feet  high,  and  three  or  four  to  six 
or  eight  feet  across.  To  heighten  the  illusion,  many  of  these 
blocks  are  covered  with  lichens,  and  bunches  of  grass  grow  in 
soil  collected  in  crevices,  just  as  they  would  in  little  rifts  in 
rocks.  These  bowlder-like  masses  are  single  plants  of  Bolax 
gleharia,  an  umbellifer  which  has  the  strange  habit  which  we 
had  already  seen  in  the  Azorella  of  Kerguelen  Island,  only 
greatly  exaggerated.  These  lumps  of  balsam -bog  are  quite 
hard  and  nearly  smooth,  and  only  when  looked  at  closely  they 
are  seen  to  be  covered  with  small  hexagonal  markings  like  the 
calyces  on  a  weathered  piece  of  coral.  These  are  the  circlets 
of  leaves  and  the  leaf-buds  terminating  a  multitude  of  stems, 
which  have  gone  on  growing  with  extreme  slowness  and  multi- 
plying dichotomously  for  an  unknown  length  of  time,  possibly 
for  centuries,  ever  since  the  plant  started  as  a  single  shoot  from 
a  seed.  The  growth  is  so  slow,  and  the  condensation  from  con- 
stant branching  is  so  great,  that  the  block  becomes  nearly  as 
hard  as  the  bowlder  which  it  so  much  resembles,  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  cut  a  shaving  from  the  surface  with  a  sharp  knife.  Un- 
der the  unfrequent  condition  of  a  warm  day  with  the  sun  shin- 
ing, a  pleasant  aromatic  odor  may  be  perceived  where  these 
plants  abound,  and  a  pale-yellow  gum  exudes  from  the  surface, 
which  turns  brown  in  drying.  The  gum  is  astringent,  and 
slightly  aromatic,  and  the  shepherds  use  it  dissolved  in  spirit  as 
a  balsam  for  wounds  and  sores.  The  flowers,  which  are  very 
inconspicuous,  are  produced  at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  and 
the  characteristic  cremocarps  of  the  umbelliferse  may  be  seen 
scattered  over  the  smooth  surface  of  the  ball  in  late  summer. 

Bolax  is  uneatable,  and  can  apparently  be  applied  to  no  par- 
ticular use ;  and  as  it  is  widely  distributed  and  abundant,  it  is 
likely  that  it  will  long  hold  its  place  as  one  of  the  curiosities  of 
the  Falklands :  such  is,  unfortunately,  not  a  reasonable  anticipa- 
tion for  that  prince  of  grasses,  Dactylis  ccespitosa.    The  tussock- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


185 


grass  grows  in  dense  tufts  from  six  to  ten  feet  high.  The  leaves 
and  stems  are  most  excellent  fodder,  and  extremely  attractive 
to  cattle ;  but  the  lower  portions  of  the  stems  and  the  crowns 
of  the  roots  have  unluckily  a  sweet,  nutty  flavor,  which  makes 
them  irresistible,  and  cattle  and  pigs  and  all  creatures,  herbivo- 
rous and  omnivorous,  crop  the  tussocks  to  the  ground,  when  the 
rain,  getting  into  the  crowns,  rots  the  roots ;  or  if  they  have  the 
means,  they  tear  them  out  bodily.  The  work  of  extermination 
has  proceeded  rapidly,  and  now  the  tussock-grass  is  confined  to 
patches  in  a  narrow  border  round  the  shore,  and  to  some  of  the 
outlying  islands.  When  we  were  lying  off  Port  Louis,  at  the 
head  of  Berkeley  Sound,  there  was  a  pretty  little  islet  thickly 
covered  with  a  perfectly  even  crop  of  tussock-grass  about  eight 
feet  high,  and  so  dense  that  it  could  be  mown  with  a  scythe. 
We  sent  a  boat's  crew  for  a  supply  for  the  animals  on  board, 
by  whom  it  was  highly  appreciated. 

The  peat  of  the  Falkland  Islands  is  very  different  in  char- 
acter from  that  of  the  North  of  Europe ;  cellular  plants  enter 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  into  its  composition,  and  it  is  formed  almost 
entirely  of  the  roots  and  matted  foliage  and  stems  of  Emjpetrum 
rubrum,  a  variety  of  the  common  "  crow-berry  "  of  the  Scottish 
hills,  with  red  berries,  called  by  the  Falklanders  the  "  diddle- 
dee  "  berry ;  of  Myrtus  nummularis  a  little  creeping  myrtle, 
which  also  produces  red  berries  with  a  pleasant  flavor  and  leaves, 
which  are  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea ;  of  Caltha  ajppendiculata, 
a  dwarf  species  of  the  marsh-marigold ;  and  of  some  sedges  and 
sedge-like  plants,  such  as  Astelia  pumila,  Gaimardia  australis, 
and  Rostkoma  grandiflora.  The  roots  and  stems  of  these,  pre- 
served almost  unaltered,  may  be  traced  down  several  feet  into 
the  peat,  but  finally  the  whole  structure  becomes  obliterated, 
and  the  whole  is  reduced  to  an  amorphous  carbonaceous  mass. 
The  general  flora  of  the  camp  is  much  like  that  of  the  low 
grounds  of  Fuegia  and  Patagonia;  but  one  misses  the  pretty 
flowering  shrubs,  especially  the  PemeUyas  and  the  lovely  Phi- 

II.— 13 


186 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


lesia  huxifolia.  The  Smilacese  are,  however,  still  well  repre- 
sented by  the  beautiful  and  delicately  perfumed  "  almond-flow- 
er "  of  the  settlers,  Gallixene  marginata. 

The  weather  while  we  were  at  the  Falklands  was  generally 
cold  and  boisterous,  and  boat -work  was  consequently  uncom- 
fortable, and  frequently  impracticable,  except  in  the  shallow 
water  within  the  harbor.  We  had,  however,  two  or  three  days' 
dredging  in  the  pinnace,  and  made  a  pretty  fair  account  of  the 
submarine  inhabitants  of  our  immediate  neighborhood.  Mao- 
rocystis  pyrifera,  the  huge  tangle  of  the  Southern  Seas,  is 
very  abundant  in  Stanley  Harbor,  anchored  in  about  ten  fath- 
oms, the  long  fronds  stretching  for  many  yards  along  the  sur- 
face, and  swaying  to  and  fro  with  the  tide.  Adhering  to  the 
fronds  of  Macrocystis  there  were  great  numbers  of  an  elegant 
little  cucumber  -  shaped  sea-slug  (Cladodactyla  crocea,  Lesson, 
sp.),  from  80  to  100  mm.  in  length  by  30  mm.  in  width  at  the 
widest  part,  and  of  a  bright  saffron-yellow  color.  The  mouth 
and  excretory  opening  are  terminal ;  ten  long,  delicate,  branch- 
ed oral  tentacles,  more  resembling  in  form  and  attitude  those 
of  Ocnus  than  those  of  the  typical  Oucumariw,  surround  the 
mouth :  the  perisom  is  thin  and  semi-transparent,  and  the  mus- 
cular bands,  the  radial  vessels,  and  even  the  internal  viscera,  can 
be  plainly  seen  through  it.  The  three  anterior  ambulacral  ves- 
sels are  approximated,  and  on  these  the  tentacular  feet  are  nu- 
merous and  well  developed,  with  a  sucking-disk  supported  by  a 
round  cribriform  calcareous  plate,  or  more  frequently  by  sev- 
eral wedge-shaped  radiating  plates  arranged  in  the  form  of  a 
rosette ;  and  these  three  ambulacra  form  together,  at  all  events 
in  the  female,  a  special  ambulatory  surface. 

The  two  ambulacral  vessels  of  the  bivium  are  also  approxi- 
mated along  the  back  ;  and  thus  the  two  inter-ambulacral  spaces 
on  the  sides  of  the  animal,  between  the  external  trivial  ambu- 
lacra and  the  ambulacra  of  the  bivium,  are  considerably  wider 
than  the  other  three ;  consequently,  in  a  transverse  section,  the 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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187 


ambulacral  vessels  do  not  correspond  with  the  angles  of  a  reg- 
ular pentagon,  but  with  those  of  an  irregular  figure  in  which 
three  angles  are  approximated  beneath  and  two  above.  In  the 
female  the  tentacular  feet  of  the  dorsal  (bivial)  ambulacra  are 
very  short ;  they  are  provided  with  sucking-disks,  but  the  cal- 
careous support  of  the  suckers  is  very  rudimentary,  and  the 
tubular  processes  are  not  apparently  fitted  for  locomotion.  In 
the  males  there  is  not  so  great  a  difference  in  character  between 
the  ambulacra  of  the  trivium  and  those  of  the  bivium ;  but  the 
tentacles  of  the  latter  seem  to  be  less  fully  developed  in  both 
sexes,  and  I  have  never  happened  to  see  an  individual  of  either 
sex  progressing  upon,  or  adhering  by,  the  water-feet  of  the  dor- 
sal canals. 

In  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  females  which  I  examined, 
young  were  closely  packed  in  two  continuous  fringes  adhering 
to  the  water-feet  of  the  dorsal  ambulacra  (Fig.  38).  The  young 
were  in  all  the  later  stages  of  growth,  and  of  all  sizes,  from  5  up 
to  40  mm.  in  length ;  but  all  the  young  attached  to  one  female 
appeared  to  be  nearly  of  the  same  age  and  size.  Some  of  the 
mothers  with  older  families  had  a  most  grotesque  appearance — 
their  bodies  entirely  hidden  by  the  couple  of  rows,  of  a  dozen 
or  so  each,  of  yellow  vesicles  like  ripe  yellow  plums  ranged 
along  their  backs,  each  surmounted  by  its  expanded  crown  of 
oral  tentacles:  in  the  fignre  the  young  are  represented  about 
half  grown.  All  the  young  I  examined  were  miniatures  of 
their  parents  ;  the  only  marked  difference  was  that  in  the  young 
the  ambulacra  of  the  bivium  were  quite  rudimentary  —  they 
were  externally  represented  only  by  bands  of  a  somewhat 
darker  orange  than  the  rest  of  the  surface,  and  by  lines  of  low 
papillae  in  the  young  of  larger  growth ;  the  radial  vessels  could 
be  well  seen  through  the  transparent  body-wall ;  the  young  at- 
tached themselves  by  the  tentacular  feet  of  the  trivial  ambula- 
cra, which  are  early  and  fully  developed. 

We  were  too  late  at  the  Falklands  (January  23d)  to  see  the 


188  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap,  i v. 

process  of  the  attachment  of  the  young  in  their  nursery,  even 
if  we  could  have  arranged  to  keep  specimens  alive  under  obser- 


Fig.  38. — Cladodactyla  crocea,  Lesson.    Stanley  Harbor,  Falkland  Islands.   Natural  size. 

vation.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that,  according  to  the  analogy 
of  the  class,  the  eggs  are  impregnated  either  in  the  ovarial  tube 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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189 


or  immediately  after  their  extrusion ;  that  the  first  develop- 
mental stages  are  run  through  rapidly ;  and  that  the  young  are 
passed  back  from  the  ovarial  opening,  which  is  at  the  side  of  the 
mouth,  along  the  dorsal  ambulacra,  and  arranged  in  their  places 
by  the  automatic  action  of  the  ambulacral  tentacles  themselves. 

The  very  remarkable  mode  of  reproduction  of  certain  mem- 
bers of  all  the  recent  classes  of  Echinodermata  by  the  inter- 
vention of  a  free-swimming  bilaterally  symmetrical  "  pseudem- 
bryo  "  developed  directly  from  the  "  morula,"  from  which  the 
true  young  is  subsequently  produced  by  a  process  of  internal 
budding  or  rearrangement,  has  long  been  well  known  through 
the  labors  of  a  host  of  observers  headed  and  represented  by  the 
late  illustrious  Professor  Johannes  Miiller,  of  Berlin. 

At  the  same  time,  it  has  all  along  been  fully  recognized  that 
reproduction  through  the  medium  of  a  psendembryo  is  not  the 
only  method  observed  in  the  class ;  but  that  in  several  of  the 
Echinoderm  orders,  while  in  a  certain  species  a  wonderfully 
perfect  and  independent  bilateral  locomotive  zooid  may  be  pro- 
duced, in  very  nearly  allied  species  the  young  Echinoderm  may 
be  developed  immediately  from  the  segmented  yelk  without 
the  formation  of  a  pseudembryo,  or,  at  all  events,  with  no  fur- 
ther indication  of  its  presence  than  certain  obscure  temporary 
processes  attached  to  the  embryo,  to  which  I  have  elsewhere 
(Phil.  Trans,  for  1865,  p.  517)  given  the  name  of  "  pseudem- 
bryonic  appendages." 

This  direct  mode  of  development  has  been  described  in  Holo- 
thuria  tremula  by  MM.  Koren  and  Danielssen,  in  Synaptula 
vivipara  by  Professor  Oersted,  in  a  "  viviparous  sea-urchin  "  by 
Professor  Grube,  in  Ecliinaster  and  in  Pter aster  by  Professor 
Sars,  in  Aster acanthion  by  Professor  Sars,  Professor  Agassiz, 
Dr.  Busch,  and  myself,  in  Ophiolepis  squamata  by  Professor 
Max  Schultze,  and  in  a  "  viviparous  ophiurid "  by  Professor 
Krohn.  ~No  less  than  four  of  these  observations  were  made  on 
the  coast  of  Scandinavia.    In  temperate  regions,  where  the 


190 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


economy  of  the  Ecliinoderms  has  been  under  the  eye  of  a 
greater  number  of  observers,  the  development  of  the  free-swim- 
ming larva  appeared  to  be  so  entirely  the  rule  that  it  is  usually 
described  as  the  normal  habit  of  the  class ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  direct  development  seemed  to  be  most  exceptional.  I 
was  therefore  greatly  surprised  to  find  that  in  the  southern  and 
subarctic  seas  a  large  proportion  of  the  Ecliinoderms  of  all  or- 
ders, with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  crinoids  (with  regard 
to  which  we  have  no  observations),  develop  their  young  after  a 
fashion  which  precludes  the  possibility,  while  it  nullifies  the  ob- 
ject, of  a  pseudembryonic  perambulator,  and  that  in  these  high 
southern  latitudes  the  formation  of  such  a  locomotive  zooid  is 
apparently  the  exception. 

This  modification  of  the  reproductive  process  consists  in  all 
these  cases,  as  it  does  likewise  in  those  few  instances  in  which 
direct  development  has  already  been  described,  of  a  device  by 
which  the  young  are  reared  within  or  upon  the  body  of  the 
parent,  and  are  retained  in  a  kind  of  commensal  connection 
with  her  until  they  are  sufficiently  grown  to  fend  for  them- 
selves. The  receptacle,  in  cases  where  a  special  receptacle  ex- 
ists in  which  the  young  are  reared,  has  been  called  a  "  marsu- 
pium  "  (Sars),  a  term  appropriately  borrowed  from  the  analogous 
arrangement  in  their  neighbors,  the  aplacental  mammals  of  Aus- 
tralia. The  young  do  not  appear  to  have  in  any  case  an  or- 
ganic connection  with  the  parent ;  the  impregnated  egg  from 
the  time  of  its  reaching  the  morula  stage  is  entirely  free ;  the 
embryos  are  indebted  to  the  mother  for  protection,  and  for  nu- 
trition only  indirectly  through  the  mucus  exuded  from  the  sur- 
face of  her  perisom,  and  through  the  currents  of  freshly  aerated 
water  containing  organic  matter  brought  to  them  or  driven  over 
them  by  the  action  of  her  cilia. 

Animals  hatching  their  eggs  in  this  way  ought  certainly  to 
give  the  best  possible  opportunities  for  studying  the  early  stages 
in  the  development  of  their  young.    Unfortunately,  however, 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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191 


this  is  a  kind  of  investigation  which  requires  time  and  stillness 
and  passable  comfort ;  and  such  are  not  the  usual  conditions  of 
a  voyage  in  the  Antarctic  Sea.  Specimens  have  been  carefully 
preserved  with  the  young  in  all  stages ;  and  I  hope  that  a  care- 
ful examination  of  these  may  yield  some  further  results. 

Cladodactyla  crocea  is  one  of  the  forms  in  which  there  is  no 
special  marsupium  formed ;  it  is  possible  that  the  comparative- 
ly genial  condition  of  the  land-locked  fiords  and  harbors  of  the 
Malvinas,  and  the  additional  shelter  yielded  by  the  imbricating 
fronds  of  Macrocystis,  may  render  such  exceptional  provision 
unnecessary. 

Five  at  least  of  these  directly  developing  echinoderms,  repre- 
senting five  principal  divisions  of  the  subkingdom,  were  dredged 
at  the  Falklands,  and  several  others  were  found  earlier  in  the 
voyage  in  the  subantarctic  regions  of  the  Southern  Sea.  It  will, 
perhaps,  give  a  better  idea  of  the  diversity  of  means  by  which 
practically  the  same  end  is  attained,  if  I  give  here  a  brief  de- 
scription of  the  principal  modifications  of  the  process  which 
were  exhibited. 

To  give  a  second  example  from  the  Holothuroidea,  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th  of  February,  1875,  we  dredged  at  a  depth 
of  75  fathoms,  at  the  entrance  of  Corinthian  Harbor  {alias 
"Whisky  Bay"),  in  Heard  Island  (so  far  as  I  am  aware,  the 
most  desolate  spot  on  God's  earth),  a  number  of  specimens  of  a 
pretty  little  Psolus,  which  I  shall  here  call,  for  the  sake  of  con- 
venience, P.  ephipjpifer,  although  it  may  very  possibly  turn  out 
to  be  a  variety  of  the  northern  P.  ojperculatus. 

P.  epkippifer  (Figs.  39,  40)  is  a  small  species,  about  40  mm. 
in  length  by  15  to  18  mm.  in  extreme  width.  In  accordance 
with  the  characters  of  the  genus,  the  ambulatory  area  is  abruptly 
defined,  and  tentacular  feet  are  absent  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  body,  which  is  covered  with  a  thick  leathery  membrane  in 
which  calcareous  scales  of  irregular  form  are  imbedded.  The 
oral  and  excretory  openings  are  on  the  upper  surface,  a  little 


192 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


behind  the  anterior  border  of  the  ambulatory  tract,  and  a  little 
in  advance  of  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  body  respectively. 
A  slightly  elevated  pyramid  of  five  very  accurately  fitting  cal- 
careous valves  closes  over  the  oral  aperture  and  the  ring  of  oral 

tentacles ;  and  a  less  regular  valvular 
arrangement  covers  the  vent. 

In  the  middle  of  the  back  in  the 
female  there  is  a  well-defined  saddle- 
like elevation  formed  of  large  tessel- 
lated plates  somewhat  irregular  in 
form,  with  the  surfaces  smoothly  gran- 
ulated (Fig.  39).  On  removing  one  or 
two  of  the  central  plates,  we  find  that 
they  are  not,  like  the  other  plates  of 
the  perisom,  imbedded  partially  or  al- 
most completely  in  the  skin,  but  that 
they  are  raised  up  on  a  central  col- 
umn like  a  mushroom  or  a  card-table, 
expanding  above  to  the  form  of  the 
exposed  portion  of  the  plate,  contracting  to  a  stem  or  neck,  and 
then  expanding  again  into  an  irregular  foot,  which  is  imbedded 
in  the  soft  tissue  of  the  perisom.  The  consequence  of  this  ar- 
rangement is  that  when  the  plates  are  fitted  together  edge  to 
edge,  cloister-like  spaces  are  left  between  their  supporting  col- 
umns. In  these  spaces  the  eggs  are  hatched,  and  the  eggs  or 
the  young  in  their  early  stages  are  exposed  by  removing  the 
plates  (Fig.  40).  At  first,  when  there  are  only  morales  or  very 
young  embryos  in  the  crypts,  the  marsupium  is  barely  raised 
above  the  general  surface  of  the  perisom,  and  the  plates  of  the 
marsupium  fit  accurately  to  one  another;  but  as  the  embryos 
increase  in  size,  the  marsupium  projects  more  and  more,  and 
at  length  the  joints  between  the  plates  begin  to  open  (Fig. 
39),  and  finally  they  open  sufficiently  to  allow  the  escape 
of  the  young.    The  young  in  one  marsupium  seem  to  be  all 


Fig.  39. — Psolus  ephippifer,  Wv- 
ville  Thomson.  Corinthian  Har- 
bor, Heard  Island.  Three  times 
the  natural  size. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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193 


nearly  of  an  age.  In  P.  ephippif'er  the  marsupium  occupies 
the  greater  part  of  the  dorsal  surface,  and  its  passages  run  close 
up  to  the  edge  of  the  mouth,  so  that  the  eggs  pass  into  them  at 
once  from  the  ovarial  opening  without  exposure. 

In  the  male  there  is,  of  course,  no  regular  marsupium ;  but 
the  plates  are  arranged  in  the  middle  of  the  back  somewhat  as 
they  are  in  the  female,  except  that  they  are  not  raised  upon 
peduncles;  so  that  it  is  not  easy  at 
once  to  distinguish  a  male  from  an 
infecund  female. 

Although  we  have  taken  species 
of  Psolus  sometimes  in  great  abun- 
dance in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
particularly  in  high  latitudes,  south- 
ern and  northern,  I  have  never  ob- 
served this  peculiar  form  of  the  re- 
productive process  except  on  this  one 
occasion. 

On  the  28th  of  January  we  dredged 
from  the  steam  pinnace  in  about  10 
fathoms  water  off  Cape  Pembroke,  at 
the  entrance  of  Stanley  Harbor,  a 
number  of  specimens  of  a  pretty  lit- 
tle regular  sea-urchin  Goniocidaris 
canaliculata,  A.  Agassiz. 

The  genus  Goniocidaris  (Desor) 
seems  to  differ  from  the  genus  Oi-  FlG- 40  — Psolus  epMpptfer,  some  of 

.    .-i.i       i         -.         .  .  the  Plates  of  the  Marsupium  re- 

daT%8  m  little  else  than  m  having  a      moved.    Three  times  the  natural 

very  marked,  naked,  zigzag,  vertical  Slze* 
groove  between  the  two  rows  of  plates  of  each  inter -am- 
bulacral  area,  and  one  somewhat  less  distinct  between  the 
ranges  of  ambulacral  plates.  It  includes  about  half  a  dozen 
species,  which  appear  to  be  mainly  confined  to  the  colder 
regions  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  although  two  of  the  spe- 


194  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  iv. 

cies  extend  as  far  to  the  northward  as  the  East  Indies  and 
Natal. 


Fig.  41. — Goniocidaris  canaliculata,  A.  Agassiz.   Stanley  Harbor.  Twice  the  natural  size. 

This  species  (Fig.  41)  has  a  general  resemblance,  at  a  first 
glance,  to  the  small  Mediterranean  variety  (affinis)  of  Cidaris 
papillata,  but  the  radioles  are  thinner  and  much  shorter,  and 
differ  wholly  in  their  sculpture ;  the  shell  is  even  more  de- 
pressed ;  the  secondary  tubercles  are  more  distant ;  and  a  very 
regular  series  of  short  club-shaped  rays  seated  on  miliary  gran- 
ules are  interposed  in  the  rows  between  the  spines  of  the  sec- 
ond order.  The  ovarial  openings  are  extremely  minute,  and  are 
placed  close  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  ovarial  plates.  The  upper 
part  of  the  test  is  quite  flat,  the  flat  space  including  not  only 
the  ovarial  plates  and  the  plates  of  the  periproct,  but  the  first 
pair,  at  least,  of  the  plates  of  each  inter-ambulacral  area.  Artic- 
ulated to  the  primary  tubercles  of  these  latter  are  two  circles 
of  radioles,  the  inner  more  slender  and  shorter,  the  outer  stout- 
er and  longer,  but  both  series  much  larger  than  radioles  usually 
are  in  that  position  on  the  test. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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195 


These  special  spines  are  cylindrical,  and  nearly  smooth,  and 
they  lean  over  toward  the  anal  opening,  and  form  an  open  tent 
for  the  protection  of  the  young,  as  in  Cidaris  nutrix,  a  species 
presently  to  be  described,  but  at  the  opposite  pole  of  the  body. 
In  this  species  the  eggs  are  extruded  directly  into  the  marsu- 
pium ;  and  I  imagine,  from  the  very  small  size  of  the  ovarial 
openings,  that  when  they  enter  it  they  are  very  minute,  and 
probably  unimpregnated.  In  the  examples  which  we  dredged 
at  the  Falkland  Islands,  the  young  were,  in  almost  every  case, 
nearly  ready  to  leave  the  marsupium ;  we  were  too  late  in  the 
season  to  see  the  earlier  stages.  Young  in  the  same  marsupium 
are  nearly  all  of  an  age,  some  somewhat  more  advanced  than 
others.  The  diameter  of  the  test  is  from  1  to  1*5  millim.,  and 
the  height  about  *8  millim. ;  the  length  of  the  primary  spines 
is,  in  the  most  backward  of  the  brood,  *5  millim.,  while  in  the 
most  advanced  it  equals  the  diameter  of  the  test.  The  perisom, 
in  which  the  cribriform  rudiments  of  the  plates  of  the  corona 
and  the  young  spines  are  being  developed,  is  loaded  with  dark- 
purple  pigment,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  observe  the  growth 
of  the  calcareous  elements.  About  thirty  primary  spines  arise 
on  the  surface  of  the  corona  almost  simultaneously  in  ten  rows 
of  three  each :  they  first  make  their  appearance  as  small  papil- 
lse  covered  with  a  densely  pigmented  ciliated  membrane ;  and 
when  they  have  once  begun  to  lengthen,  they  run  out  very 
rapidly  until  they  bear  to  the  young  nearly  the  same  propor- 
tions which  the  full-grown  spines  bear  to  the  mature  corona. 
Yery  shortly  some  of  the  secondary  spines,  at  first  nearly  as 
large  as  the  sprouting  primary  spines,  make  their  appearance  in 
the  interstices  between  these ;  and  a  crowd  of  very  small  spines 
rise  on  the  nascent  scales  of  the  peristome.  Successively  five 
or  six  pedicellarise  are  developed  toward  the  outer  edge  of  the 
apical  area,  which  at  this  stage  is  disproportionately  large ;  the 
pedicellarise  commence  as  purple  papillae,  which  are  at  first  un- 
distinguishable  from  young  primary  spines ;  the  first  set  look 


t 


196  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  iv. 

enormously  large  in  proportion  to  the  other  appendages  of  the 
perisom.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the  first  appearance  of 
the  primary  spines,  ten  tentacular  feet,  apparently  the  first 
pairs  on  each  ambulacrum  of  the  corona,  just  beyond  the  edge 
of  the  peristome,  come  into  play ;  they  are  very  delicate  and 
extremely  extensile,  with  well-defined  sucking-disks ;  and  with 
these  the  young  cling  to  and  move  over  the  spines  of  the  moth- 
er, and  cling  to  the  sides  of  the  glass  vessel,  if  they  are  dis- 
lodged from  the  marsupium.  This  species  seems  to  acquire  its 
full  size  during  a  single  season.  We  dredged  it  at  the  close  of 
the  breeding  season,  and  we  took  no  specimens  intermediate  in 
size  between  the  adult  and  the  young. 

Among  the  marine  animals  which  we  dredged  from  the 
steam-pinnace  on  the  19th  of  January,  1874,  at  depths  of  from 
50  to  70  fathoms  in  Balfour  Bay  (a  fine  recess  of  one  of  the 
many  channels  which  separate  the  forelands  and  islands  at  the 
head  of  Koyal  Sound,  Kerguelen  Island),  there  were  several 
examples  of  a  small  Oidaris,  which  I  will  name  provisionally 
C.  nutrix  (Fig.  42). 

This  species  resembles  O.papillata  in  the  general  form  and 
arrangement  of  the  plates  of  the  corona,  in  the  form  and  ar- 
rangement of  the  primary  tubercles  of  the  inter  -  ambulacral 
areas  and  of  the  secondary  tubercles  over  the  general  surface 
of  the  test,  in  the  form  of  the  plates  of  the  apical  disk  and  of 
the  imbricated  calcareous  scales  of  the  peristome,  in  the  form, 
sculpture,  and  proportionate  length  of  the  primary  spines,  and 
in  the  form  of  the  different  elements  of  the  jaw-pyramid  and 
in  that  of  the  teeth ;  but  the  test  is  more  depressed,  the  second- 
ary spines  which  articulate  to  the  ambulacral  plates  and  cover 
the  pore -areas  are  longer  and  more  cylindrical,  not  so  much 
flattened  as  they  are  in  C.papillata  /  the  large  tulip-like  pedi- 
cellarise  and  the  long  thin  tridactyle  pedicellarisB  mixed  with 
the  secondary  spines  in  the  northern  species  are  wanting,  or  in 
very  small  number ;  and  the  minute  pedicellarise  of  the  peri- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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197 


stome  are  much  fewer.  The  ovaries,  which  in  O.  papillata 
have  the  walls  loaded  with  large  expanded  calcareous  plates, 
contain  only  a  few  small  branched  spicules ;  and  the  calcareous 
bodies  in  the  wall  of  the  intestine  are  small  and  distant.  The 
perforations  in  the  ovarial  plates  in  the  female  are  somewhat 
larger  than  in  C. papillata;  and  the  ripe  ova  in  the  ovary  ap- 
pear to  be  considerably  larger. 


Fig.  4Q.—Cidaris  nutrix,  Wyville  Thomson.    Balfour  Bay,  Kergueleu  Island.    Natural  size. 


The  eggs,  after  escaping  from  the  ovary,  are  passed  along  on 
the  surface  of  the  test  toward  the  mouth;  and  the  smaller 
slightly  spathulate  primary  spines,  which  are  articulated  to 
about  the  first  three  rows  of  tubercles  round  the  peristome,  are 
bent  inward  over  the  mouth,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  open  tent, 


198 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


in  which  the  young  are  developed  directly  from  the  egg  with- 
out undergoing  any  metamorphosis,  until  they  have  attained 
a  diameter  of  about  2*5  mm. ;  they  are  then  entirely  covered 
with  plates,  and  are  provided  with  spines  exceeding  in  length 
the  diameter  of  the  test.  Even  before  they  have  attained  this 
size  and  development,  the  more  mature  or  more  active  of  a 
brood  may  be  seen  straying  away  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
"  nursery,"  and  creeping,  with  the  aid  of  their  first  few  pairs  of 
tentacular  feet,  out  upon  the  long  spines  of  their  mother.  I 
have  frequently  watched  them  return  again  after  a  short  ram- 
ble into  the  marsupium. 

I  am  not  aware  that  a  free  pseudembryo,  or  "pluteus,"  has 
been  observed  in  any  species  of  the  restricted  family  Cidaridse ; 
but  I  feel  very  certain  that  Gidaris  papillata  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  except  possibly  in  the  extreme  north,  has  no  mar- 
supial arrangement  such  as  we  find  in  the  Kerguelen  Cidaris. 
There  have  passed  through  my  hands  during  the  last  few  years 
hundreds  of  specimens  of  the  normal  northern  form,  of  the 
Mediterranean  varieties  G.  hystwix  and  G.  affinis  (Stolcesii),  and 
of  the  American  G.  abyssicola,  from  wide-spread  localities  and 
of  all  ages ;  and  I  have  never  found  the  young  except  singly, 
and  never  in  any  way  specially  associated  with  breeding  indi- 
viduals. 

In  Stanley  Harbor  we  dredged  many  specimens  of  an  irreg- 
ular urchin,  much  resembling  in  general  appearance  Brisopsis 
lyrifera,  the  common  "fiddle  urchin"  of  the  boreal  province 
of  the  British  Seas,  and  probably  to  be  referred  to  Hemiaster 
Philippii,  Gray. 

These  urchins  were  not  breeding  when  we  were  at  the  Falk- 
lands;  but  on  the  9th  of  January,  1874,  we  dredged  from  the 
pinnace  in  shallow  water,  varying  from  20  to  50  fathoms,  with 
a  muddy  bottom,  in  Accessible  Bay,  Kerguelen  Island,  innumer- 
able samples  of  apparently  the  same  species. 

The  test  of  a  full-sized  example  (Fig.  43)  is  about  45  mm.  in 


PLATE  XXXV.-DIAGRAM  OF  THE  VERTICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TEM I 


RATURE  BETWEEN  THE  FALKLAND  ISLANDS  AND  LOBOS  ISLAND. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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199 


length  and  40  mm.  in  width ;  the  height  of  the  shell  in  the  fe- 
male is  25  mm.,  in  the  male  it  is  considerably  less.  The  apex 
is  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  dorsal  surface ;  the  genital  open- 
ings are  three  in  number,  in  the  female  very  large ;  the  bilabi- 
ate mouth  is  placed  well  forward  on  the  ventral  aspect ;  and 
the  excretory  opening  is  posterior  and  supramarginal.  The 
odd  anterior  ambulacrum  is  shallow,  and  the  tube-feet  which 
are  projected  from  it  are  large  and  capitate.  The  anterior 
paired  ambulacra  are  somewhat  longer  than  the  posterior.  The 
whole  of  the  surface  of  the  test  is  covered  with  a  close  pile  of 
small  spines  of  a  dark-green  color;  those  fringing  the  ambu- 


Fig.  43—Hemiaster  Philippii,  Gray.   Accessible  Bay,  Kergueleu  Island.   Twice  the  natural 

size. 

lacral  grooves  are  long  and  slightly  curved,  and  they  bend  and 
interdigitate  so  accurately  over  the  ambulacra  that  one  might 
easily  overlook  the  grooves  at  a  first  glance.  The  peripetalous 
fasciole  is  somewhat  irregular ;  but  in  those  examples  in  which 
it  is  best  defined,  it  forms  a  wide  arch,  extending  backward  on 
each  side  a  little  beyond  the  lateral  ambulacra  of  the  trivium, 


200 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


and  then,  contracting  a  little,  forms  a  rudely  rectangular  figure 
round  the  bivium.  The  paired  ambulacral  grooves  in  the  male 
are  shallow,  not  much  deeper  than  the  anterior  ambulacrum 
(Fig.  45) ;  in  the  female  the  pore-plates  of  the  paired  ambulacra 


Fig.  44. — Hemiaster  Philippii.  The  apical  Fig.  45.  —  Hemiaster  Philippii.  The  apical 
portion  of  the  test  of  the  female  seen  from  portion  of  the  test  of  the  male  seen  from 
within.   Slightly  enlarged.  within.    Slightly  enlarged. 


are  greatly  expanded  and  lengthened,  and  thinned  out  and  de- 
pressed so  as  to  form  four  deep,  thin-walled,  oval  cups  sinking 
into  and  encroaching  upon  the  cavity  of  the  test,  and  forming 
very  efficient  protective  marsupia  (Fig.  44).  The  ovarial  open- 
ings are,  of  course,  opposite  the  interradial  areas ;  but  the  spines 
are  so  arranged  that  a  kind  of  covered  passage  leads  from  the 
opening  into  the  marsupium ;  and  along  this  passage  the  eggs, 
which  are  remarkably  large,  upward  of  a  millimetre  in  diameter 
when  they  leave  the  ovary,  are  passed,  and  are  arranged  very 
regularly  in  rows  on  the  floor  of  the  pouch,  each  egg  being  kept 
in  its  place  by  two  or  three  short  spines  which  bend  over  it 
(Fig.  46). 

Among  the  very  many  examples  of  this  Hemiaster  which  we 
dredged  in  Accessible  Bay,  and  afterward  in  Cascade  Harbor, 
Kerguelen,  there  were  young  in  all  stages  in  the  breeding- 
pouches  ;  and  although  from  the  large  size  and  the  opacity  of 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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201 


the  egg  and  embryo  it  is  not  a  very  favorable  species  for  obser- 
vation, had  other  conditions  been  favorable,  we  had  all  the  ma- 
terial for  working  out  the  earlier  stages  in  the  development  of 
the  young  very  fully.  The  eggs,  on  being  first  placed  in  the 
pouches,  are  spherical  granular  masses  of  a  deep  orange  color, 
inclosed  within  a  pliable  vitelline  membrane,  which  they  en- 
tirely fill.  They  become  rapidly  paler  in  color  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  blastoderm ;  they  then  increase  in  size  probably  by 
the  imbibition  of  water  into  the  gastrula  cavity  ;  and  a  whitish 


Fig.  i&.—Hemiaster  Philippii.    The  arrangement  of  the  eggs  in  one  of  the  marsupial  re- 
cesses.  Five  times  the  natural  size. 

spot  with  a  slightly  raised  border  indicates  an  opening  which,  I 
have  no  reason  to  doubt,  is  the  permanent  mouth ;  but  of  this 
I  can  not  be  absolutely  certain.  The  surface  now  assumes  a 
translucent  appearance,  and  becomes  deeply  tinged  with  dark- 
II.— 14 


202 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


purple  and  greenish  pigment ;  and  almost  immediately,  without 
any  definite  intermediate  steps,  the  outer  wall  is  filled  with  cal- 
cified tissue — it  becomes  covered  with  fine  spines  and  pedicella- 
rise,  a  row  of  tentacular  feet  come  into  action  round  the  mouth, 
the  vent  appears  at  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  body,  and 
the  young  assumes  nearly  the  form  of  the  adult.  These  later 
changes  take  place  very  quickly ;  but  they  are  accompanied  by 
the  production  of  so  much  heavy  purple  and  dark-green  pig- 
ment that  it  is  difficult  to  follow  them.  The  viscera  are  pro- 
duced at  the  expense  of  the  abundant  yelk ;  and  the  animals  at 
once  take  a  great  start  in  size  by  the  imbibition  of  water  into 
the  previseeral  cavity.  The  young  urchins  jostle  one  another 
on  the  floor  of  the  breeding-pouch,  those  below  pushing  the  oth- 
ers up  until  the  upper  set  are  forced  out  between  the  rows  of 
fringing  spines  of  the  pouch;  but  even  before  leaving  the  mar- 
supium,  on  carefully  opening  the  shell  of  the  young,  the  intes- 
tine may  be  seen  already  full  of  dark  sand,  following  much  the 
same  course  which  it  follows  in  the  adult.  The  size  of  the  test 
of  the  young  on  leaving  the  marsupium  is  about  2*5  mm.  in 
length  by  2  mm.  in  width. 

We  took  along  with  the  last  species  in  Stanley  Harbor  sev- 
eral specimens  of  a  large  species  of  Asteracantion,  which  form- 
ed a  marsupium  after  the  manner  so  well  described  by  Sars  in 
Echinaster  Sarsii,  Mullee,  by  drawing  its  arms  inward  and 
forward,  and  forming  a  brood  -  chamber  over  the  mouth.  In 
some  samples  of  this  species  the  young  were  so  far  advanced 
that  when  the  mother  was  placed  in  a  jar  they  crept  out  of  the 
nursery  and  wandered  over  the  glass  wall  of  their  prison  ;  this 
brood  had  entirely  lost  the  pseudembryonic  appendages,  but  in 
their  younger  condition  these  are  very  apparent,  though  scarce- 
ly so  well  developed  as  in  the  young  of  A.  molaeeus  on  our 
own  coast. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1874,  at  Station  CXLIX.,  off  Cape 
Maclear,  on  the  south-east  coast  of  Kerguelen  Island,  we  dredged 


CHAP.  IV.  ] 


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203 


a  handsome  star -fish  allied  to  Luidia  or  Archaster,  which 
has  since  been  described  by  Mr.  Edgar  Smith,  from  specimens 
brought  home  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eaton,  under  the  name  of  Lepty- 
chaster  Kerguelenensis  (Fig.  47). 


Fig.  47.  —  Leptychaster  Kerguelenensis,  E.  Smith.    Off  Cape  Maclear,  Kergnelen  Island. 
Twice  the  natural  size. 

A  well-grown  example  is  from  100  to  120  mm.  in  diameter 
from  tip  to  tip  of  the  arms ;  the  length  of  the  arm  is  about 


204 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


three  times  its  width  near  the  base,  and  three  times  the  diame- 
ter of  the  disk.  The  marginal  plates  are  long  and  narrow,  run- 
ning np  with  a  slight  curve  outward  from  the  edge  of  the  am- 
bulacral  groove  until  they  meet  the  border  of  the  dorsal  perisom 
above.  They  are  closely  set  with  short  blunt  spines,  which  be- 
come gradually  a  little  longer  toward  the  radial  groove ;  and 
at  the  edge  of  the  groove  each  plate  bears  a  tuft  of  about  six 
rather  long  spines :  these  tufts  in  combination  form  a  scalloped 
fringe  spreading  inward  on  each  side  over  the  groove.  The 
dorsal  surface  of  the  body  is  covered  with  a  tessellated  pavement 
composed  of  capitate  paxilli.  The  heads  of  the  paxilli  in  close 
apposition  combine  to  form  a  mosaic  with  rudely  hexagonal 
facets ;  and  as  they  are  raised  upon  somewhat  slender  shafts, 
whose  bases,  like  the  plinths  of  columns,  rest  upon  the  soft  per- 
isom, arcade-like  spaces  are  left  between  the  skin  and  the  upper 
calcareous  pavement.  The  eggs  pass  into  these  spaces  from  the 
ovarial  openings :  on  bending  the  perisom  and  separating  the 
facets,  they  may  be  seen  in  numbers  among  the  shafts  of  the 
paxilli.  There  is  a  continual  discharge  of  ova  into  the  passages, 
so  that  eggs  and  young  in  different  stages  of  development  oc- 
cupy the  spaces  at  one  time.  The  young  do  not  escape  until 
at  least  six  ambulacral  suckers  are  formed  on  each  arm ;  they 
may  then  be  seen  pushing  their  way  out  by  forcing  the  pax- 
illi to  the  side,  and  squeezing  through  the  chink  between  them. 
While  it  is  extricating  itself  the  oral  surface  of  the  young  is  al- 
ways above,  and  the  centre  of  the  star  with  the  mouth  is  usu- 
ally the  part  which  first  protrudes ;  then  the  arms  disengage 
themselves  one  after  another,  many  of  the  brood  remaining  for 
a  time  with  one  or  two  arms  free  and  the  others  still  under  the 
paxilli.  When  the  young  have  become  disengaged,  they  re- 
main for  a  considerable  time  attached  to  the  parent  by  the  cen- 
tre of  the  dorsal  surface.  I  could  never  satisfy  myself  by  what 
means  this  is  effected ;  the  attachment  is  very  slight,  and  they 
are  removed  by  the  least  touch.    In  this  attached  stage  until 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


205 


they  entirely  free  themselves,  which  they  do  when  the  number 
of  tentacular  feet  on  each  arm  has  reached  about  twenty,  they 
cluster  in  the  re-entering  angles  between  the  arms  of  the  moth- 
er, spreading  a  little  way  along  the  arms  and  on  the  dorsal  sur- 
face of  the  disk ;  the  young  escape  from  the  marsupium  chiefly 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  angles  between  the  rays.  The  mad- 
reporiform  tubercle  is  visible  in  the  young  near  the  margin  of 
the  disk  between  two  of  the  arms ;  but  in  the  mature  star-fish 
it  is  completely  hidden  by  the  paxilli,  and  no  doubt  it  opens 
into  the  space  beneath  them. 

We  took  Lejoty  chaster  in  the  act  of  bringing  forth  young  on 
that  one  occasion  only ;  and  the  weather  was  so  boisterous  at  the 
time  that  it  was  impossible  to  trace  the  early  stages  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  embryo.  It  is  evident  that  the  process  generally 
resembles  that  described  by  Professor  Sars  in  Pteraster  milita- 
ris;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that,  while  there  is  certainly  not  the 
least  approach  to  the  formation  of  a  locomotive  bipinnaria,  as  in 
that  species,  some  provisional  organs  may  exist  at  an  early  period. 

In  "  The  Depths  of  the  Sea  "  (p.  120)  I  noticed  and  figured 
a  singular  little  star-fish  from  a  depth  of  500  fathoms,  off  the 
North  of  Scotland,  under  the  name  of  Hymenaster  pelhtcidus. 
This  form  was  at  that  time  the  type  of  a  new  genus ;  but  the 
researches  of  the  last  three  years  have  shown  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception perhaps  of  Archaster,  Hymenaster  is  the  most  widely 
distributed  genus  of  Asterids  in  deep  water.  It  is  met  with 
(sparingly,  it  is  true,  only  one  or  two  specimens  being  usually 
taken  at  once  in  the  trawl)  in  all  parts  of  the  great  ocean ;  and 
it  ranges  in  depth  from  400  to  about  2500  fathoms. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1874,  we  dredged  an  extremely  hand- 
some new  form,  to  which  I  shall  give  provisionally  the  name  of 
Hymenaster  nobilis,  in  lat.  50°  V  S.,  long.  123°  4'  E.,  1099  miles 
south-west  of  Cape  Otway,  Australia,  at  a  depth  of  1800  fath- 
oms, with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze,  and  a  bottom  tempera- 
ture of  0°-3  C. 


206 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  iv. 


Hymenaster  nobilis  (Fig.  48)  is  300  mm.  in  diameter  from  tip 
to  tip  of  the  rays ;  the  arms  are  55  mm.  wide ;  and,  as  in  H.pel- 
lucidus,  sl  row  of  spines  fringing  the  ambulacral  grooves  are 


Fig.  48.— Hymenaster  nobilis,  Wyville  Thomson.   Southern  Sea.    Half  the  natural  size. 

greatly  lengthened  and  webbed,  and  the  web  running  along  the 
side  of  one  arm  meets  and  nnites  with  the  web  of  the  adjacent 
arm,  so  that  the  angles  between  the  arms  are  entirely  filled  np 
by  a  fleshy  lamina  stretched  over  and  supported  by  spines,  the 
body  thus  becoming  a  regular  pentagon.  The  upper  surface  of 
the  body,  the  disk,  and  the  arms  —  all  the  surface  except  the 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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207 


smooth  membrane  between  the  arms — is  covered  with  fascicles 
of  four  to  six  diverging  spines.  These  spines  are  abont  3  mm. 
in  height ;  and  they  support  and  stretch  out  a  tolerably  strong 
membrane  clear  above  the  surface  of  the  perisom,  like  the  can- 
vas of  a  marquee,  leaving  an  open  space  beneath  it.  A  close 
approach  to  this  arrangement  occurs  also  in  Pter aster. 

At  the  apical  pole  the  upper  free  membrane  runs  up  to  and 
ends  at  a  large  aperture,  15  mm.  in  diameter,  surrounded  by  a 
ring  of  five  very  beautifully  formed  valves.  These  valves  do 
not  essentially  differ  from  the  ordinary  radiating  supports  of 
the  marsupial  tent ;  a  stout  calcareous  rod  arises  from  the  end 
of  the  double  chain  of  ossicles  which  form  the  floor  of  the  am- 
bulacra! groove.  From  the  outer  aspect  of  this  support  three 
or  four  spines  diverge  in  the  ordinary  way  under  the  tent- 
cover  ;  but  from  its  inner  aspect  six  or  eight  slender  spines  rise 
in  one  plane  with  a  special  membrane  stretched  between  them. 
When  the  valves  are  raised,  and  the  pentagonal  chamber  be- 
neath them  open,  these  spines  separate  from  one  another,  and, 
like  the  ribs  of  a  fan,  spread  out  the  membrane  in  a  crescentic 
form  (Fig.  48) ;  and  when  the  valves  close,  the  spines  approxi- 
mate and  are  drawn  downward,  the  five  valves  forming  together 
a  very  regular,  low,  five-sided  pyramid  (Fig.  49).  Looking  down 
into  the  chamber  when  the  valves  are  raised,  the  vent  is  seen 
on  a  small  projecting  papilla  in  the  centre  of  the  floor;  and 
between  the  supporting  ossicles  of  the  valves,  five  dark  open 
arches  lead  into  the  spaces  opposite  the  re-entering  angles  of 
the  arms,  which  receive  the  ducts  of  the  ovaries.  In  the  par- 
ticular specimen  to  which  I  have  referred,  which  is  considera- 
bly the  largest  of  the  genus  which  we  have  yet  met  with,  there 
were  one  or  two  eggs  in  the  pouch,  but  they  were  apparently 
abortive.  It  seemed  that  the  brood  had  been  lately  discharged  ; 
for  some  oval  depressions  still  remained  on  the  floor  of  the  cen- 
tral chamber,  in  which  the  eggs  or  the  young  had  evidently 
been  lodged.    I  have  on  three  occasions  in  species  of  the  genus 


208 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


Hymenaster  found  the  eggs  beneath  the  membrane  in  the  an- 
gles of  the  arms,  and,  in  a  more  advanced  stage,  congregated 
in  the  central  tent,  but  never  under  circumstances  such  that  I 


Fig.  49.— Hymenaster  nobilis.   The  marsupial  tent  with  the  valves  closed.   Twice  the  nat- 
ural size. 

could  keep  and  examine  them.  Exposed  or  loosely  covered  eggs 
or  embryos,  or  any  soft  and  pulpy  organs  or  appendages,  are 
always  in  a  half-disintegrated  state  when  they  are  brought  up 
from  such  great  depths,  if  they  have  not  been  entirely  washed 
away. 

As  I  have  already  said,  Hymenaster  is  closely  allied  to  Pter- 
aster •  the  arrangements  of  the  marsupium  are  nearly  the  same 
in  both ;  and  it  is  highly  probable  that,  in  Hymenaster,  as  in 
P.  militaris,  a  provisional  alimentary  tract  may  be  developed 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  embryo. 

There  are  several  fine  species  of  Hymenaster  within  reach 
of  British  naturalists  in  the  deep  water  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Channel  and  off  Cape  Clear;  but  I  fear  there  will  be  great 
difficulty  in  determining  this  point  unless  the  genus  turn  up 


CHAP.  IV.] 


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209 


somewhere  in  shallower  soundings  where  specimens  can  be 
taken  alive. 

In  Stanley  Harbor,  on  the  roots  of  Macroeystis,  and  also 
brought  up  free  by  the  dredge,  there  were  numerous  examples 
of  an  ophiurid  which  appears  to  correspond  with  Ophiacantha 
vivipara,  Ljungman.  We  had  previously  got  either  the  same 
or  a  very  closely  allied  form  in  great  abundance  in  the  fiords  of 


Fig.  50. — Ophiocoma  t  vivipara,  Ljdngman,  sp.   Twice  the  natural  size.   (No.  149.) 


Kerguelen.  The  Kerguelen  variety  has  been  noticed  by  Mr. 
Edgar  Smith,  under  the  name  of  Ophioglypha  hexactis,  and  I 
have  called  it,  provisionally,  in  a  paper  in  the  "  Proceedings  of 


210 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


the  Linnsean  Society,"  Ophiocoma  didelphis,  from  its  opossum- 
like habit  of  carrying  its  young  upon  its  back.  I  do  not  think 
that  it  can  properly  be  relegated  to  any  genus  at  present  de- 
lined,  but  it  will  doubtless  fall  into  its  place  when  the  Ophiurids 
shall  have  been  revised. 

The  disk  is  about  20  mm.  in  diameter ;  and  the  arms  are  four 
times  the  diameter  of  the  disk  in  length.  The  disk  is  uniform- 
ly coarsely  granulated  ;  the  arm-shields,  which  are  well  defined 
through  the  membrane,  are  rounded  in  form  and  roughly  gran- 
ulated like  the  remainder  of  the  disk.  The  character  which  at 
once  distinguishes  this  species  from  all  the  others  of  the  genus 
is,  that  the  normal  number  of  the  arms  is  six  or  seven  instead 
of  five,  which  is  almost  universal  in  the  class.  The  number  of 
arms  is  subject  to  certain  variation.  I  have  seen  from  six  to 
nine,  but  never  fewer  than  six.  The  arm-spines  are  numerous 
and  long.  The  general  color  of  the  disk  and  arms  is  a  dull 
greenish  brown. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  mature  females,  if  not  all  of  them, 
had  a  group  of  from  three  to  ten  or  twelve  young  ones  clinging 
to  the  upper  surface  of  the  disk  by  their  arms.  The  largest  of 
these  were  about  a  quarter  the  size  of  their  mother ;  and  they 
graduated  down  in  size  until  the  smallest  had  a  diameter  of  less 
than  1-5  mm.  across  the  disk.  The  largest  and  oldest  of  the 
progeny  were  always  uppermost,  farthest  from  the  disk,  the 
series  decreasing  in  size  downward,  and  the  supply  evidently 
coming  from  the  genital  clefts  beneath.  In  several  specimens 
which  I  examined,  although  by  no  means  in  all,  there  were 
groups  of  eggs  and  of  young  in  still  earlier  stages,  free  in  the 
body-cavity  in  the  interbrachial  spaces. 

It  thus  seems  that  in  this  case  the  true  marsupium  is  a 
portion  of  the  body-cavity,  and  that  the  protection  afforded  by 
it  is  supplemented  by  the  attachment  of  the  young  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  disk,  maintained  for  some  time  after  their  extrusion 
or  escape. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


211 


The  process  of  propagation  in  Ophiocoma  vivipara  differs 
from  most  of  the  other  cases  described,  in  the  eggs  being  suc- 
cessively hatched,  and  the  young  being  found  consequently  in 
a  regularly  graduated  series  of  stages  of  growth.  Although  I 
had  not  an  opportunity  of  working  the  matter  out  with  the 
care  and  completeness  I  could  have  wished,  I  feel  satisfied, 
from  the  examination  of  several  of  the  young  at  a  very  early 
period,  that  in  this  case  no  provisional  mouth  and  no  pseudem- 
bryonic  appendages  whatever  are  formed,  and  that  the  pri- 
mary aperture  of  the  gastrula  remains  as  the  common  mouth 
and  excretory  opening  of  the  mature  form.  From  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ovaries  and  of  the  broods  of  young,  I  should  think 
it  probable  that  this  species  gives  off  young  in  a  continuous 
series  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  probably  for  some 
months. 

I  have  selected  these  illustrations  of  the  development  of  the 
young  of  Echinoderms  from  the  egg  without  the  intervention 
of  a  locomotive  pseudembryo  from  a  much  larger  number. 
As  I  have  already  said,  I  can  not,  on  account  of  the  unfavora- 
ble conditions  for  carrying  on  such  investigations  under  which 
the  majority  of  the  species  were  procured,  say  with  certainty 
that  no  trace  of  pseudembryonic  appendages  or  provisional  or- 
gans exists  in  any  of  these  instances,  but  I  feel  satisfied  that 
none  such  occurs  in  Psolus  ephijjjpifer,  in  Herniaster  Philippii, 
or  in  Ojphiacoma  vivipara.  Neither  am  I  in  a  position  to  state 
that  in  these  southern  latitudes  direct  development  is  univer- 
sal in  the  subkingdom.  I  believe,  indeed,  that  it  is  not  so  ;  for 
species  of  the  genera  Echinus,  Strongylocentrotus,  and  Ambly- 
pneustes  run  far  south,  and  a  marsupial  arrangement  seems  im- 
probable in  any  of  these.  It  is,  however,  a  significant  fact  that, 
while  in  warm  and  temperate  seas  plutei  and  bipinn  arise  are 
constantly  taken  in  the  surface-net,  in  the  Southern  Sea  they  are 
almost  entirely  absent. 

Amidst  all  their  general  tameness  the  Falkland  Islands  boast 


212 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  iv. 


one  natural  phenomenon  which  is  certainly  very  exceptional, 
and  at  the  same  time  very  effective. 

In  the  East  Island  most  of  the  valleys  are  occupied  by  pale- 
gray  glistening  masses,  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  a  mile  or 
two  in  width,  which  look  at  a  distance  much  like  glaciers  de- 
scending apparently  from  the  adjacent  ridges,  and  gradually  in- 
creasing in  volume,  fed  by  tributary  streams,  until  they  reach 
the  sea.  Examined  a  little  more  closely,  these  are  found  to  be 
vast  accumulations  of  blocks  of  quartzite,  irregular  in  form,  but 
having  a  tendency  to  a  rude  diamond  shape,  from  two  to  eight 
or  ten  or  twenty  feet  long,  and  perhaps  half  as  much  in  width, 
and  of  a  thickness  corresponding  with  that  of  the  quartzite 
bands  in  the  ridges  above.  The  blocks  are  angular,  like  the 
fragments  in  a  breccia,  and  they  rest  irregularly  one  upon  the 
other,  supported  in  all  positions  by  the  angles  and  edges  of 
those  beneath. 

They  are  not  weathered  to  nnj  extent,  though  the  edges  and 
points  are  in  most  cases  slightly  rounded ;  and  the  surface,  also 
perceptibly  worn,  but  only  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  is 
smooth  and  polished ;  and  a  very  thin,  extremely  hard,  white 
lichen  which  spreads  over  nearly  the  whole  of  them  gives  the 
effect  of  their  being  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  ice. 

Far  down  below,  under  the  stones,  one  can  hear  the  stream 
of  water  gurgling  which  occupies  the  axis  of  the  valley ;  and 
here  and  there,  where  a  space  between  the  blocks  is  unusually 
large  and  clear,  a  quivering  reflection  is  sent  back  from  a  stray 
sunbeam. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  valley  the  section  of  the  "  stone  river  " 
exposed  by  the  sea  is  like  that  of  a  stone  drain  on  a  huge  scale, 
the  stream  running  in  a  channel  arched  over  by  loose  stone 
blocks,  or  finding  its  way  through  the  spaces  among  them. 
There  is  scarcely  any  higher  vegetation  on  the  "  stone  run ;" 
the  surface  of  every  block  is  slippery  and  clean,  except  where 
here  and  there  a  little  peaty  soil  has  lodged  in  a  cranny,  and 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


213 


you  find  a  few  trailing  spikes  of  Nassauma  serpens,  or  a  few 
heads  of  the  graceful  drooping  chrysanthemum -like  Chabrcea 
sitaveolens. 

These  stone  rivers  are  looked  upon  with  great  wonder  by 
the  shifting  population  of  the  Falklands,  and  they  are  shown 
to  visitors  with  many  strange  speculations  as  to  their  mode  of 
formation.  Their  origin  seems,  however,  to  be  obvious  and 
simple  enough,  and  on  that  account  their  study  is  all  the  more 
instructive,  for  they  form  an  extreme  case  of  a  phenomenon 
which  is  of  wide  occurrence,  and  whose  consequences  are,  I  be- 
lieve, very  much  underrated. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  blocks  of  quartzite  in  the 
valleys  are  derived  from  the  bands  of  quartzite  in  the  ridges 
above,  for  they  correspond  with  them  in  every  respect;  the 
difficulty  is  to  account  for  their  flowing  down  the  valley,  for 
the  slope  from  the  ridge  to  the  valley  is  often  not  more  than 
six  to  eight  degrees,  and  the  slope  of  the  valley  itself  only  two 
or  three,  in  either  case  much  too  low  to  cause  blocks  of  that 
form  either  to  slide  or  to  roll  down. 

The  process  appears  to  be  this :  The  beds  of  quartzite  are 
of  very  different  hardness ;  some  are  soft,  passing  into  a  crum- 
bling sandstone,  while  others  are  so  hard  as  to  yield  but  little 
to  ordinary  weathering.  The  softer  bands  are  worn  away  in 
process  of  time,  and  the  compact  quartzites  are  left  as  long  pro- 
jecting ridges  along  the  crests  and  flanks  of  the  hill -ranges. 
When  the  process  of  the  disintegration  of  the  softer  beds  has 
gone  on  for  some  time,  the  support  of  their  adjacent  beds  is 
taken  away  from  the  denuded  quartzites,  and  they  give  way  in 
the  direction  of  the  joints,  and  the  fragments  fall  over  upon 
the  gentle  slopes  of  the  hill-side.  The  vegetation  soon  covers 
the  fallen  fragments,  and  usually  near  the  sloping  outcrops  of 
the  hard  quartz,  a  slight  inequality  only  in  the  surface  of  the 
turf  indicates  that  the  loose  blocks  are  imbedded  beneath  it. 
Once  imbedded  in  the  vegetable  soil,  a  number  of  causes  tend 


214 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


to  make  the  whole  soil-cap,  heavy  blocks  included,  creep  down 
even  the  least  slope.  I  will  only  mention  one  or  two  of  these. 
There  is  constant  expansion  and  contraction  of  the  spongy  veg- 
etable mass  going  on,  as  it  is  saturated  with  water  or  compar- 
atively dry ;  and  while  with  the  expansion  the  blocks  slip 
infinitesimally  down,  the  subsequent  contraction  can  not  pull 
them  up  against  their  weight.  The  rain-water  trickling  down 
the  slope  is  removing  every  movable  particle  from  before 
them ;  the  vegetable  matter  on  which  they  are  immediately 
resting  is  undergoing  a  perpetual  process  of  interstitial  decay 
and  removal.  In  this  way  the  blocks  are  gradually  borne 
down  the  slope  in  the  soil-cap,  and  piled  in  the  valley  below. 
The  only  other  question  is,  how  the  soil  is  afterward  removed 
and  the  blocks  left  bare.  This,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  effected  by 
the  stream  in  the  valley  altering  its  course  from  time  to  time, 
and  washing  away  the  soil  from  beneath. 

This  is  a  process  which  in  some  of  the  great  stone  rivers  in 
the  Falkland  Islands  must  have  taken  an  enormous  time.  I 
fear  that  the  extreme  glacialists  will  see  in  it  a  danger  to  this 
universal  application  of  their  beloved  theory  to  all  cases  of 
scratching  and  grooving.  I  have  known  too  much  of  the  ac- 
tion of  ice  to  have  the  slightest  doubt  of  its  power ;  but  I  say 
that  ice  had  no  hand  whatever  in  the  production  of  these  grand 
moraines  in  the  Falkland  Islands. 

In  the  West  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  in  many  other  parts 
of  the  world,  I  have  often  noticed  that  when  a  hill  of  such  a 
rock  as  clay-slate  comes  down  with  a  gentle  slope,  the  outcrop 
of  the  vertical  or  highly  inclined  slates  covered  with  a  thick 
layer  of  vegetable  soil  or  drift  containing  imbedded  blocks  and 
bowlders  derived  from  higher  levels,  the  slates  are  frequently 
first  slightly  bent  downward,  then  abruptly  curved  and  broken, 
and  frequently  the  lines  of  the  fragments  of  the  fractured  beds 
of  slate  can  be  traced  for  a  yard  or  two  in  the  soil-cap  gradual- 
ly becoming  parallel  with  its  surface,  and  passing  down  in  the 


W— 5 


Plate  XXXVI .  Meteorological  (jj 
  ItayMb  Thermometer  — — . 

£   Th&  arrows  irvdztxtte/         c&Lrc<-£tx??i  of  t/ve,  withcb,  aivcl/  t\ 


N  Barometer 


I   s  z 


10      II        12       13       14  15 


5:3111 


IS 


41 


55 


-4 

+ 


t 


m 


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-3: 
-2- 
+ 

-9- 

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4 

3 
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e: 


A|L  KL 
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AND 

1LQ 


UANDS 


sir 


ANLEY   H«  IS  C 


nervations  for  the  month  of  February,  1876 


fetBulb  Thermometer  Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 

I  7tu7rtber's  bertectt/is  it&  fbrce/  ctccvrefajicf  to  J2e€>uc/vr6  's  sc^Le/ 


16       17      18       19      20      21       22      23      24-      25      26      27      28  23 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


215 


direction  of  its  line  of  descent.  These  movements  are  proba- 
bly extremely  slow.  I  well  remember  many  years  ago  observ- 
ing a  case,  somewhere  in  the  West  of  Scotland,  where  a  stream 
had  exposed  a  fine  section  of  the  soil -cap  with  the  lines  of 
broken-down  and  crushed  slate-beds  carried  far  down  the  slope. 
The  whole  effect  was  so  graphically  one  of  vigorous  and  irre- 
sistible movement,  that  I  examined  carefully  some  cottages  and 
old  trees  in  hope  of  finding  some  evidence  of  twisting  or  other 
irregular  dislocations ;  but  there  appeared  to  be  none  such. 
The  movement,  if  it  were  sufficiently  rapid  to  make  a  sign  dur- 
ing the  life  of  a  cottage  or  a  tree,  evidently  pervaded  the  whole 
mass  uniformly. 

It  seems  to  me  almost  self-evident  that  wherever  there  is  a 
slope,  be  it  ever  so  gentle,  the  soil-cap  must  be  in  motion,  be 
the  motion  ever  so  slow ;  and  that  it  is  dragging  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  rock  beneath  the  blocks  and  bowlders  which  may 
be  imbedded  in  it ;  and  frequently  piling  these  in  moraine-like 
masses,  where  the  progress  of  the  earth-glacier  is  particularly 
arrested,  as  at  the  contracted  mouth  of  a  valley  >  where  the 
water  percolating  through  among  them  in  time  removes  the 
intervening  soil.  As  the  avalanche  is  the  catastrophe  of  ice- 
movement,  so  the  land-slip  is  the  catastrophe  of  the  movement 
of  the  soil-cap. 

As  I  have  already  said,  I  should  be  the  last  to  undervalue  the 
action  of  ice,  or  to  doubt  the  abundant  evidences  of  glacial  ac- 
tion ;  but  of  this  I  feel  convinced,  that  too  little  attention  has 
been  hitherto  given  to  this  parallel  series  of  phenomena,  which 
in  many  cases  it  will  be  found  very  difficult  to  discriminate; 
and  that  these  phenomena  must  be  carefully  distinguished  and 
discriminated  before  we  can  fully  accept  the  grooving  of  rocks 
and  the  accumulation  of  moraines  as  complete  evidence  of  a 
former  existence  of  glacial  conditions. 

On  the  1st  of  February  we  went  round  to  the  head  of  Berke- 
ley Sound,  and  saw  the  old  station  of  St.  Louis  now  nearly  de- 


216 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


serted,  some  shepherds  in  the  employment  of  the  Falkland  Isl- 
ands Company  having  occupied  the  old  Government  buildings. 
We  returned  to  Stanley  on  the  4th,  and  on  the  6th  we  sailed 
for  Montevideo,  bidding  a  final  farewell  to  the  Falklands,  which 
I  am  sure  we  shall  always  remember  with  pleasure,  if  not  on 
their  own  account,  on  that  of  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
which  we  met  with  during  our  stay. 

On  the  8th  we  sounded  about  200  miles  to  the  north-east  of 
Stanley,  in  a  depth  of  1035  fathoms.  The  sounding-machine 
brought  up  no  sample  of  the  bottom,  but  a  tow-net  attached  to 
the  dredge-rope  at  the  weight  contained  a  little  gravel  and  one 
or  two  small  organisms.  The  bottom  temperature  was  1°*7  C. 
The  trawl  was  lowered,  but  it  was  unfortunately  carried  away, 
after  the  weights,  which  were  300  fathoms  in  advance  of  the 
trawl,  had  been  brought  on  board.  The  rope  was  much  chafed, 
as  if  it  had  been  dragged  against  sharp  rocks.  The  following 
day  was  fine,  with  light,  uncertain  winds.  On  the  10th  it  was 
blowing  half  a  gale,  and  the  sea  was  running  too  high  for 
sounding  operations.  On  the  11th  the  weather  was  fine,  the 
wind  becoming  more  moderate  toward  noon.  At  10  a.m.  we 
sounded  and  put  down  the  trawl  in  2040  fathoms,  with  a  bot- 
tom of  bluish  mud  containing  many  Globigerinw,  and  a  bottom 
temperature  of  +  0°  3  C.  The  position  of  the  sounding  was  lat. 
42°  32'  S.,  long.  56°  27'  W.,  about  200  miles  to  the  eastward  of 
Yaldes  Peninsula.  Temperature  soundings  were  taken  at  this 
station  down  to  1500  fathoms.  This  sounding  gives  a  singu- 
larly rapid  fall  from  14° -2  C.  on  the  surface  to  2°  C.  at  125 
fathoms;  the  edge  of  the  antarctic  indraught  appeared  to  be 
pushed  up  against  the  American  shore  by  the  western  border 
of  the  southern  branch  of  the  reflux  of  the  equatorial  current, 
just  as  the  Labrador  current  is  banked  up  by  its  northern 
branch ;  the  result  being  no  doubt  increased  in  both  cases  by 
the  flinging-up  of  the  polar  water  against  the  western  land-bar- 
rier on  account  of  its  low  initial  velocity.    The  trawl  yielded 


PLATE  XXXVII.— DIAGRAM  OF  THE  VERTICAL  DISTRIBUTION  01 


1100 

1200 

1300 
1400 

1500 

1600 

1700 

1800 

0061 

2000 

2100 

j 

•  330 

331 

332 
1 

__________ 



333 

334 

_______ 



335 

IIS! 

EMPERATURE  BETWEEN  LOBOS  ISLAND  AND  TRISTAN  D'ACUNHA. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


217 


only  one  or  two  fishes,  some  medusae,  and  a  caridid  shrimp,  so 
that  there  was  no  actual  evidence  of  its  having  reached  the 
bottom. 

On  the  12th  we  sounded  in  2425  fathoms,  and  took  a  series 
of  temperatures.  The  upper  temperatures  were  decidedly 
higher  than  they  were  the  day  before,  5°  C.  occurring  at  125 
fathoms,  2°'5  C.  at  700,  and  2°  C.  at  1100  fathoms.  The  po- 
sition of  the  sounding  was  lat.  41°  45'  S.,  long.  54°  46'  W. ; 
it  was  nearly  double  the  distance  of  the  previous  sounding 
from  the  100-fathom  line,  which  very  nearly  corresponds  with 
a  submarine  cliff  of  great  height.  The  bottom  temperature 
was  —  0o,4  C.  On  the  14th  we  sounded  in  600  fathoms  on  the 
plateau  extending  from  the  South  American  coast,  opposite  the 
estuary  of  the  River  Plate,  144  miles  from  Labos  Island.  We 
took  a  set  of  temperatures  to  the  bottom,  and  found  the  grada- 
tion, so  far  as  it  went,  very  much  the  same  as  on  the  12th.  The 
bottom  temperature  was  2° '7  C.  On  this  occasion  the  trawl  was 
most  successful,  and  gave  us  a  good  idea  of  the  fauna  of  moder- 
ate depths  along  the  coast.  Probably  not  fewer  than  sixty  spe- 
cies of  different  groups  were  recovered,  including  a  very  hand- 
some Pennatulid  between  two  and  three  feet  in  height,  some 
deep-sea  corals  of  very  special  interest,  and  some  fine  Echino- 
derms  and  sponges.  On  the  15th  we  anchored  in  Montevideo 
Roads. 

We  left  the  anchorage  of  Montevideo  at  day-break  on  the 
25th  of  February,  and,  after  swinging  ship  for  errors  of  the 
compasses,  we  proceeded  down  the  estuary.  In  the  afternoon 
the  trawl  was  put  over  in  13  fathoms  to  get  an  idea  of  the 
fauna  of  the  brackish  water.  The  species  procured  were  com- 
paratively few,  but  among  them  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  an 
interesting  alcyonarian  of  the  genus  Jtenilla,  which,  although 
well  known,  had  not  been  met  with  by  us  before.  On  the  two 
following  days  we  crossed  the  shallow-water  plateau,  and  on  the 
28th  we  sounded  and  trawled  in  1900  fathoms,  over  the  ledge. 

II.— 15 


218 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


The  serial  temperature  sounding  gave  a  bottom  temperature  of 
0°-0  C. ;  at  1725  the  temperature  was  l°-0  C.,  at  600  fathoms 
3°-0  C.,  and  at  50  fathoms  20°-0  C.  The  trawl  was  not  very 
successful,  but  it  brought  up  a  few  things  of  some  interest, 
among  them  an  example  of  a  small  sea-urchin  (Aceste  lellidif- 
era),  of  which  we  had  previously  taken  single  specimens  at 
widely  different  stations,  off  the  coast  of  J^ova  Scotia,  near 
Gromera  Island,  near  JSTew  Zealand,  and  near  Japan.  The  bot- 
tom was  chiefly  river-mud,  with  very  little  carbonate  of  lime. 

On  the  following  day  we  sounded  in  2800  fathoms,  and  again 
lowered  the  trawl.  The  bottom  was  a  grayish  mud  with  little 
or  no  carbonate  of  lime,  and  the  bottom  temperature  was  —  0o,4 
C.    The  trawl-line  parted  near  the  ship  in  heaving  in. 

On  the  1st  of  March  we  proceeded  on  our  course,  and  on  the 
2d  we  sounded  in  2650  fathoms  with  a  bottom  of  gray  mud  and 
a  bottom  temperature  of  —  0o,4:  C.  The  trawl  was  put  over, 
and  a  series  of  temperature  observations  were  taken  to  1500 
fathoms.  This  sounding  is  very  instructive :  the  isotherm  of 
3°  C.  is  found  at  600  fathoms,  so  that  we  have  a  mass  of  water 
at  a  lower  temperature  than  3°  C.  2000  fathoms  in  thickness ; 
2°*5  C.  occurs  at  1900  fathoms,  and  zero  at  2400.  A  very  mark- 
ed hump  on  the  curve  which  extends  from  a  depth  of  125  fath- 
oms to  a  depth  of  255  fathoms,  and  corresponds  with  the  wide 
spaces  between  the  isotherms  of  15°  C.  and  6°  C,  evidently  in- 
dicates the  position  and  volume  of  the  Brazil  Current,  the  south- 
ern deflection  of  the  equatorial  current  after  its  bifurcation  at 
Cape  St.  Roque.  The  trawl  came  up  containing  an  unusually 
large  number  of  organisms  for  this  depth,  including  two  speci- 
mens of  an  undescribed  species  of  JZuplectella,  some  corals,  sev- 
eral echinoderms  illustrating  three  of  the  orders,  some  beautiful 
examples  of  a  species  of  Stylifer  commensal  on  one  of  the  holo- 
thurians,  and  several  fishes. 

Next  day  we  sounded  in  2775  fathoms,  and  took  temperature 
soundings.   This  series  presented  a  marked  difference  from  that 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


219 


of  the  previous  day.  All  the  isotherms  from  that  of  1°*5  C. 
had  risen  palpably,  most  of  them,  between  100  and  200  fath- 
oms. Even  the  surface  participated  in  the  fall  of  temperature, 
having  sunk  from  21°*6  C.  to  19°*9  C.  This  is  evidently  a  space 
in  the  Brazil  Current  occupied  by  cold  water,  like  the  peculiar 
cold  interdigitations  which  are  so  marked  in  the  Gulf -stream. 
The  position  of  this  sounding  was  lat.  37°  3'  S.,  long.  44°  17'  W. 
A  serial  temperature  sounding  on  the  following  day,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  80  miles  to  the  eastward,  where  the  depth  was  2900 
fathoms  and  the  bottom  temperature  — 0°*3  C,  showed  by  the 
sinking  of  all  the  isotherms  that  we  had  again  entered  the  nor- 
mal now  of  the  Brazil  Current. 

On  the  6th  of  March  it  was  blowing  hard  from  the  south- 
west with  a  heavy  sea.  We  sounded  in  2000  fathoms,  with  a 
bottom  of  gray  mud,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  — 0o,3  C. ; 
but  the  weather  was  too  boisterous  to  admit  of  a  serial  temper- 
ature sounding.  On  the  7th  the  sea  was  more  moderate,  and 
we  sounded  in  2675  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  temperature  of 
— 0o,6  O,  and  took  a  series  of  temperatures.  The  bottom  was 
again  a  fine  gray  or  slightly  reddish  mud,  almost  free  from 
calcic  carbonate.  Samples  of  water  were  obtained  for  spe- 
cific-gravity determinations  and  analysis  down  to  2000  fath- 
oms. 

On  the  8th  of  March  we  sounded  in  2440  fathoms,  with  a 
bottom  of  light-red  mud  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  — 0o-3  C. ; 
and  on  the  9th,  somewhat  to  our  surprise,  we  sounded  in  1715 
fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze  and  a  temperature 
of  l°-3  C.  The  sea  was  heavy,  and  trawling  operations  conse- 
quently difficult.  The  trawl  was  lowered,  however,  on  account 
of  the  remarkable  shallowness  of  the  sounding ;  but  it  unfortu- 
nately came  up  foul,  and  the  observation  was  lost.  It  seems 
that  this  sounding  was  on  the  central  meridional  rise  which 
separates  the  western  from  the  eastern  trough  of  the  Atlantic 
at  a  depth  apparently  nowhere  much  beyond  2000  fathoms,  near 


220 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


its  western  edge.  As  usual,  the  deeper  isotherms  showed  a 
tendency  to  rise  slightly  in  the  shallower  water. 

On  the  10th  the  morning  was  misty  and  rainy,  with  the 
wind  northerly,  shifting  to  the  southward  toward  noon.  "We 
sounded  in  2200  fathoms,  globigerina  ooze,  with  a  bottom  tem- 
perature of  +  0o,4  C.  The  trawl  was  put  over,  but  on  being  re- 
covered it  was  found  to  have  been  down  on  its  back ;  and  it 
contained  only  a  few  fragments  of  one  or  two  sponges,  crusta- 
ceans, and  echinoderms. 

We  ran  on  during  the  11th  and  12th,  and  on  the  13th  we 
sounded  on  globigerina  ooze  at  a  depth  of  2025  fathoms  with  a 
bottom  temperature  of  1°*2  C.  The  trawl  again  came  up  empty 
and  reversed,  some  fragments  adhering  to  the  net  showing  that 
there  was  a  varied  fauna,  and  that  much  interesting  material 
must  have  been  got  from  a  successful  haul. 

The  position  of  the  sounding  on  the  14th  was  lat.  35°  45'  S., 
long.  18°  3'  W. ;  the  depth  was  1915  fathoms,  the  bottom  globi- 
gerina ooze,  and  the  bottom  temperature  1°*5  C. ;  the  distance 
from  Tristan  d'Acunha  was  310  miles.  The  trawl  came  up 
again  foul,  with  only  some  fragments  to  indicate  the  presence 
of  an  abundant  fauna.  As  we  had  already  crossed  our  outward 
track  in  1873,  and  as  the  temperatures  at  depths  uninfluenced 
by  the  changes  of  the  seasons  seemed  to  verify  in  every  way 
our  former  work,  we  thought  it  unnecessary  to  go  farther  to 
the  eastward  on  the  direct  line ;  and  we  took  a  north-easterly 
course  toward  a  point  in  the  meridian  of  the  Island  of  Ascen- 
sion, now  distant  from  us  about  1685  miles. 

We  ran  on  next  day,  and  on  the  16th  the  position  of  the  ship 
was  lat.  32°  24'  S.,  long.  15°  5'  W.,  1470  miles  almost  due  south 
of  Ascension,  and  280  miles  north  by  west  of  Tristan  d'Acunha. 
We  sounded  in  1425  fathoms  on  globigerina  ooze  with  a  bot- 
tom temperature  of  2°*3  C.  The  trawl  had  failed  so  frequently 
of  late  that  we  determined  to  send  down  instead  a  large  light 
dredge  which  we  had  had  made  at  Hong-Kong  for  the  shallow- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


221 


water,  sponge-producing  seas  of  the  Philippines.  It  came  up 
with  scarcely  any  ooze  and  with  only  a  small  number  of  animal 
species ;  but  among  them  were  many  very  perfect  specimens  of 
the  rare  little  sea-urchin  Salenia  varisjpina.  It  is  singular  that 
although  there  were  a  large  number  of  hempen  tangles  attached 
to  the  dredge,  and  they  seemed  to  have  done  their  work  well, 
none  of  the  Bryozoa  so  characteristic  of  moderate  depths  with 
a  bottom  of  globigerina  ooze  in  the  Atlantic  were  taken  on  this 
occasion.    In  the  evening  we  made  sail  due  north. 

For  the  next  ten  days,  up  to  the  26th,  we  kept  a  northerly 
course  on  the  central  ridge  of  the  Atlantic  in  soundings  never 
exceeding  2000  fathoms.  The  bottom  was  globigerina  ooze,  ex- 
cept on  two  occasions  when  the  sounding-tube  brought  up  no 
sample,  and  the  station  was  accordingly  entered  "  hard  ground." 
The  bottom  temperature  averaged  about  2°  C,  varying  two  or 
three  tenths,  with  differences  of  three  or  four  hundred  fathoms 
in  depth.  The  dredge  was  lowered  on  the  19th  in  1240  fath- 
oms, but  it  came  up  empty.  We  made  another  attempt  on  the 
21st,  and  on  this  occasion  we  were  more  successful,  bringing  up 
what  we  most  wished,  a  supply  of  globigerina  ooze  for  after-ex- 
amination. The  only  organism  recovered  was  a  dead  wisp  of 
Hyalonema  spicules  caught  in  the  tangles. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  we  were  close  to  the  Island  of 
Ascension,  and  as  we  neared  the  land  the  weather  became  thick 
and  heavy  all  round,  and  there  was  a  very  heavy  rain-squall, 
which  lasted  some  hours.  It  cleared  off  about  noon,  and  the 
dark-red  cones  and  craters  of  the  lower  part  of  the  island  were 
visible  to  the  north-eastward.  We  sounded  in  425  fathoms,  and 
put  over  the  dredge,  which  was  fairly  successful,  bringing  up  a 
large  number  of  corals  and  sponges,  and  a  number  of  echino- 
derms,  including  several  examples  of  the  ordinary  form  of  Echi- 
nus Flemingii. 

I  was  sitting  writing  below  as  we  approached  the  land,  and 
did  not  go  on  deck  until  we  had  cast  anchor  in  11  fathoms  in 


222 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


Clarence  Bay,  off  Tartar  Stairs,  the  landing -pier  of  George 
Town.  The  sun  was  just  setting,  and  the  outlines  and  coloring 
had  a  most  improbable  effect;  the  near  cones  perfectly  sym- 
metrical and  of  a  deep  crimson ;  intermediate  rough  lava-mass- 
es, like  cinders  seen  through  a  huge  magnifying  -  glass,  deep 
brown  or  pitch-black ;  and  in  the  middle  Green  Mountain,  an 
irregular  peak  of  gray  trachyte,  the  gray  of  the  rock  melting 
into  the  curious  blue  green  of  the  Australian  foliage  above. 

Ascension  is  certainly  a  strange  little  place.  It  is  purely 
volcanic ;  and  although  there  is  now  no  sign  whatever  of  vol- 
canic activity,  the  cones  of  tufa  are  so  fresh,  and  so  defined  and 
vivid  in  their  different  shades  of  brown  and  red,  and  the  lava- 
beds  are  so  rugged,  apparently  utterly  unaffected  by  atmos- 
pheric action,  that  the  impression  is  irresistible  that  it  is  a  lately 
formed  heap  of  cinders  and  ashes,  probably  still  resting  upon 
slumbering  fires.  The  island  is  irregularly  oval  in  form,  about 
seven  and  a  half  miles  long  by  six  wide ;  the  position  of  the  cen- 
tral peak  is  lat.  Y°  56'  58"  S.,  long.  14°  20'  W.  It  is  directly 
in  the  path  of  the  south-east  trade ;  so  that  there  is  an  exposed 
weather  side,  with  abrupt  cliffs  and  precipices  and  unsafe  land- 
ing, and  a  lee  side,  where  there  is  the  settlement  and  anchorage. 
As  in  almost  all  these  volcanic  islands  in  the  path  of  constant 
winds,  during  the  periods  of  eruption  the  scoriae  and  ashes  have 
been  driven  to  leeward  of  the  centre  of  action,  and  have  pro- 
duced a  bank  which  now  forms  good  holding  anchorage-ground. 

From  the  anchorage  there  is  not  a  particle  of  vegetation  to 
be  seen,  except  the  slight  green  tinge  near  the  top  of  Green 
Mountain,  about  six  miles  distant ;  only  a  waste  of  lava  and 
ashes,  black,  gray,  and  red,  rising  peak  after  peak  and  ridge 
after  ridge,  until  the  harsh  outlines  and  abrupt  alternations  of 
color  become  somewhat  softened  down  and  mellowed  in  the 
distance.  The  little  town  is  placed  on  a  dreary  plot  of  cinders 
at  the  end  of  a  valley  which  winds  up  between  two  great  cones 
of  red  ashes,  and  eventually  reaches  the  foot  of  Green  Mount- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


223 


ain.  There  is  a  small  fort  mounting  rather  heavy  guns,  with 
a  little  pier  beside  it,  where  there  is  fair  landing  in  moderate 
weather.  There  is,  moreover,  a  large  crane  at  the  end  of  the 
pier,  and  a  very  slight  shift  of  the  trade-wind  makes  it  neces- 
sary to  rig  a  chair,  or  a  bight  of  a  rope,  as  the  case  may  be,  on 
the  chain,  and  hoist  up  a  new  arrival.  A  neat  little  church  is 
prominent  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  and  there  is  a  good  ma- 
chine-shop ;  a  water  distillery,  in  case  of  the  supply  on  the  isl- 
and running  short ;  a  barrack  for  about  a  couple  of  hundred 
marines;  a  street  of  officers'  quarters — neat  little  square  houses 
with  trim  square  gardens,  and  a  full  complement  of  ladies  and 
healthy-looking  children,  and  showy  subtropical  flowers  ;  a  com- 
modious hospital,  and  a  large  Government  store. 

All  day  one  can  see  little  parties  of  marines  and  Kroomen 
going  to  or  returning  from  their  work,  or  calling  at  certain 
hours  at  the  store  for  rations  to  take  home  to  their  wives,  and 
officers  strolling  about  in  their  white  tropical  undress  and  "  pug- 
geries,"  or  superintending  fatigue-parties  at  work  on  the  roads 
or  in  the  yard. 

Every  thing  trim  and  neat  and  precise,  for  Ascension,  in  one 
curious  respect,  stands  alone  among  all  the  isles  of  the  sea.  It, 
or  I  suppose  I  should  say  "she,"  is  in  commission  as  one  of 
Her  Majesty's  ships,  a  tender  to  the  Flora,  the  guard-ship  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  is  at  present  under  the  genial 
and  popular  command  of  Captain  East.  All  the  inhabitants 
of  the  island  are  more  or  less  in  connection  with  the  service, 
and  a  few  years  ago  discipline  was  kept  up  as  rigidly  on  shore 
as  if  the  island  had  been  in  truth  a  ship  on  a  foreign  station ; 
smoking  was  allowed  only  at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  and 
man-of-war  routine  was  enforced  not  only  upon  the  island  staff, 
but  upon  strangers  also.  Of  late  years  discipline  seems  to  have 
been  everywhere,  to  a  certain  extent,  relaxed  ;  and  in  the  Island 
of  Ascension,  as  elsewhere,  there  is  a  great  increase  of  commu- 
nity of  feeling  and  human  sympathy  throughout  the  different 


224 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


grades  of  the  service.  This  depends,  doubtless,  greatly  upon 
the  personal  equation  of  the  commandant,  but  not  entirely 
so ;  the  old  oppressive  system  under  which  Ascension,  in  com- 
mon with  many  other  ships,  suffered  some  years  ago  could 
scarcely  exist  under  present  conditions.  Now,  apparently,  lit- 
tle is  felt  of  unpleasant  restriction,  although  the  island  is  un- 
der military  law,  and  every  thing  is  done  in  order  and  at  the 
sound  of  the  bugle.  Bations  are  served  out,  of  food  and  water, 
to  every  family,  so  much  a  head,  the  amount  varying  with  the 
supply.  As  the  island  is  in  no  sense  self-supporting,  nearly 
every  thing  being  imported,  provisions  are  only  supplied  to 
merchant-ships  in  case  of  necessity,  and  at  almost  prohibitory 
rates.  At  noon,  instead  of  the  town -clock  lagging  out  its 
twelve  strokes,  the  workmen  disperse  to  their  midday  spell  to 
the  sharp,  familiar  sound  of  "  eight  bells." 

The  day  before  we  arrived  had  been  most  exceptional  in  the 
experience  of  the  station.  Heavy  rain  had  fallen,  as  it  only 
knows  in  the  tropics  how  to  fall,  for  some  hours  continuously, 
too  rapidly  to  be  absorbed  by  the  porous  ashes,  which  soon  suck 
up  any  ordinary  tropical  shower;  and  the  water  had  rushed 
down  the  valley,  and  swept  through  the  settlement,  committing 
great  havoc  among  their  neatly  paved  streets  and  squares.  The 
torrent  had  rushed  far  out  to  sea,  red  with  ashes,  and  had  car- 
ried with  it  quantities  of  cinders  and  lumps  of  pumice,  some 
of  which  were  still  floating  about  on  the  surface. 

During  our  stay  we  had  a  pleasant  excursion  up  to  Green 
Mountain,  where  we  remained  a  day  or  two  with  Captain  East. 
The  road  from  the  settlement  is  very  good,  winding  up  a  gen- 
tle slope  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  among  the  lava  ridges. 
The  whole  of  the  lower  part  of  the  island  is  absolutely  bar- 
ren— a  waste  of  stones,  with  here  and  there  a  gnarled  cactus- 
stump  and  a  few  solanaceous  and  portalaceous  weeds,  which 
afford  scanty  food  to  the  guinea-fowl,  which,  at  first  introduced 
from  the  Cape  Yerde  Islands,  have  become  rather  numerous 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


225 


in  the  rocky  valleys,  and  afford  a  good  deal  of  very  exciting, 
if  rather  break-neck,  sport.  The  most  useful  wild  plant  is  the 
Cape  gooseberry  (a  species  of  Physalis),  which  is  very  com- 
mon, and  yields  an  abundance  of  pleasant  subacid  berries. 
Vinca  rosea  has  spread  all  about,  in  its  white  and  lilac  varie- 
ties, and  a  tuft  of  its  showy  flowers  is  about  the  only  relief  to 
the  general  sterility.  In  a  genial  tropical  climate,  prevented 
from  becoming  insupportably  hot  and  dry  by  the  moisture- 
laden  trade,  and  with  a  soil  rich  from  the  decomposition  of 
volcanic  minerals,  it  is  wonderful  what  a  tendency  to  vegeta- 
tion there  is.  The  beds  are  so  porous  that  the  unfrequent  rain 
dries  off  at  once ;  but  even  the  slightest  shower  brings  into 
transient  blossom  and  beauty  some  little  parched-up  mummy 
of  a  plant  in  every  crevice.  If  they  could  only  irrigate  bit  by 
bit  for  a  few  years  till  enough  of  vegetable  soil  had  been  accu- 
mulated to  make  the  surface  a  little  more  compact  and  reten- 
tive, I  am  sure  this  wilderness  would  soon  blossom  like  the  rose. 
Natural  causes  will  carry  this  out  in  time ;  and  no  doubt  some 
of  Captain  East's  remote  successors  in  office,  a  few  centuries 
hence,  will  be  pruning  their  vines  on  the  slopes  of  Cross  Hill. 

For  the  last  mile  the  road  zigzags  up  the  steep  slope  of 
Green  Mountain,  and  the  whole  character  of  the  scenery  sud- 
denly changes.  The  clouds,  driven  before  the  south-east  trade, 
gather  and  linger  about  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  besides 
a  frequent  most  refreshing  mist,  a  reasonable  amount  of  rain 
falls ;  not  only  enough  to  supply  the  requirements  of  the  little 
colony  on  the  mountain,  but  enough  (except  in  exceptionally 
dry  weather)  to  supply  George  Town  also,  whither  it  is  con- 
veyed from  Dampier's  Springs  and  other  sources  in  iron  pipes 
to  a  reservo$r. 

An  area  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  of  between  four  and 
five  thousand  acres,  thus  forms  an  oasis  of  the  most  delicious 
verdure  in  the  middle  of  the  desert,  with  a  charming  climate, 
the  thermometer  ranging  from  about  17°  to  27°  C. 


226 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


Like  Tristan  d'Acunha,  Ascension  was  first  formally  occu- 
pied by  Great  Britain  as  a  military  station  in  1815,  during  the 
confinement  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  on  St.  Helena.  After 
the  death  of  Napoleon,  it  was  determined  by  the  Admiralty 
to  make  Ascension  a  depot  for  the  refreshment  of  the  African 
squadron,  and  a  detachment  of  marines  relieved  the  garrison 
in  1822. 

The  climate  of  Ascension  is  wonderfully  healthy,  with  pure 
clear  air,  an  equable  temperature,  and  a  perfectly  dry  soil,  with- 
out any  thing  like  a  swamp  or  marsh,  and  with  no  decaying 
vegetation.  There  seem  to  be  none  of  the  usual  endemic  dis- 
eases ;  and  patients  suffering  from  the  terrible  marsh  fevers  of 
the  African  coast  pick  up  rapidly  the  moment  they  are  landed. 
For  many  years  the  chief  function  of  Ascension  was  that  of 
a  sanitarium,  the  hospital  below  being  filled  with  fever  cases 
landed  from  the  African  ships,  which  were  removed  as  soon 
as  possible  to  a  charming  convalescent  hospital  on  Green 
Mountain. 

On  one  occasion  the  island  paid  dearly  for  its  benevolence. 
In  the  year  1823,  a  virulent  fever  was  unfortunately  introduced 
by  H.M.S.  Bann,  which  carried  off  nearly  half  the  population. 

Of  late  years,  for  various  reasons,  fever  has  become  of  so 
much  less  frequent  occurrence  on  the  African  station  that  the 
hospitals  of  Ascension  are  usually  nearly  or  quite  empty.  The 
demand  for  fresh  provisions  is,  however,  an  increasing  one,  and 
great  care  is  bestowed  on  the  cultivation  of  the  garden  and 
farm  on  Green  Mountain.  On  a  little  plateau  a  few  hundred 
feet  below  the  peak  there  is  a  small  barrack,  with  a  mess-room  ; 
and  near  it  several  neat,  detached  houses  with  gardens,  occu- 
pied by  marine  officers  and  their  families,  and  the  stables  and 
farm-buildings.  The  large  farm-garden — for  only  a  few  vege- 
tables and  fruits  are  cultivated,  and  these  in  large  quantity,  for 
the  supply  of  the  station  and  passing  ships — is  over  the  ridge 
on  the  south  side.    Sheep  thrive  fairly  on  the  shoulder  of  the 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


227 


mountain,  which  is  covered  with  a  fine  smooth  sward,  and 
planted  with  sheltering  belts  and  clumps  of  trees  chiefly  in- 
troduced from  Australia — Eucalyptus  and  Acacia  mdanoxylon 
occupying  prominent  places — almost  like  an  English  park.  I 
do  not  know  a  more  giddy  walk  anywhere  than  round  the  peak. 
From  the  considerable  elevation  and  the  small  extent  of  the 
island,  the  descent,  especially  on  the  south  side,  looks  almost 
precipitous  down  to  the  great  rhythmic  blue  rollers  breaking 
in  cataracts  of  snow-white  foam  upon  the  cliffs  beneath  ;  and 
as  the  wind  is  always  blowing  sufficiently  hard  to  make  one 
feel  a  little  unsteady,  it  takes  some  little  time  to  get  sufficiently 
accustomed  to  the  conditions  to  enjoy  the  view,  which  is  cer- 
tainly magnificent.  The  whole  island,  such  as  it  is,  lies  at  your 
feet  like  a  strangely  exaggerated  and  unskillfully  colored  con- 
tour map,  the  great  chasms  and  crater-valleys,  even  more  weird 
and  desolate,  looking  at  them  from  above ;  and  the  wide  ocean 
of  the  deepest  blue,  flecked  with  white  by  the  trade -wind, 
stretching  round  beyond  to  meet  the  sky  in  an  unbroken  and 
solitary  circle. 

The  great  curiosity  of  Ascension  is  "  Wide-awake  Fair ;"  and 
although  we  had  seen  may  such  "  fairs,"  perhaps  even  more 
wonderful  during  the  voyage,  they  are  always  objects  of  re- 
newed interest.  From  Green  Mountain,  or  any  of  the  higher 
peaks,  one  can  see,  lying  toward  the  shore  to  the  right  of  the 
road  from  the  settlement,  a  grayish  -  white  patch  some  square 
miles  in  extent.  This  is  a  breeding-place  of  Sterna  fuliginosa, 
called  there  the  Wide-awake.  The  birds  are  in  millions,  dark- 
ening the  air,  when  they  are  disturbed,  like  smoke ;  the  eggs 
are  excellent  —  somewhat  like  a  plover's  egg  in  flavor.  Ten 
thousand  dozen  are  sometimes  gathered  in  the  breeding  season 
in  a  single  week ;  and  as  they  are  nearly  as  large  as  hen's  eggs, 
they  are  of  some  consideration  even  as  an  article  of  food. 

There  are  at  least  four  other  species  of  sea-birds  abundant 
on  the  island:  the  frigate-bird  (Tachypetes  aquila),  which 


228 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


causes  great  havoc  among  the  young  turtles  as  they  are  escap- 
ing from  their  nests  and  going  down  the  beach  to  the  sea ; 
two  species  of  Sula,  at  least  two  petrels,  and  the  pretty  tropic- 
bird  (Phaeton  wthereus),  which  here,  as  apparently  all  through 
the  Atlantic,  has  the  tail-feathers  pure  white.  Several  of  these 
birds  breed  upon  an  outlying  islet,  called  Boatswain-bird  Island. 

Between  Christmas  and  midsummer,  Ascension  is  constantly 
visited,  for  the  purpose  of  breeding,  by  the  common  green 
turtle  (Chelone  midas).  During  that  time  each  female  is  sup- 
posed to  make  three  or  four  nests.  The  beaches  in  some  of 
the  bays,  particularly  on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  are  com- 
posed of  a  rough,  calcareous  sand,  made  up  entirely  of  small, 
smooth,  rounded  pieces  of  shell.  The  female  turtle  scrambles 
about  100  yards  or  so  above  high-water  mark,  where  she  digs 
a  pit,  eight  or  ten  feet  across  by  a  foot  or  two  deep,  and  buries 
in  it  fifty  or  sixty  eggs,  which  she  carefully  covers  over  with 
sand.  She  then  returns  to  the  water  till  another  batch  of  eggs 
is  mature,  when  she  repeats  the  process  in  another  place.  The 
young  come  out  of  the  eggs  in  about  a  couple  of  months,  and, 
scrambling  through  the  sand,  make  their  way  at  once  to  the 
water.  The  females  are  taken  by  the  usual  operation  of  turn- 
ing, as  they  are  going  back  to  the  sea,  and  are  placed  in  ponds 
into  which  the  tide  flows  below  the  fort  at  George  Town. 
There  are  always  a  large  number  of  the  strange-looking  creat- 
ures in  the  ponds,  whence  they  are  regularly  supplied  to  pass- 
ing men-of-war.  No  small  turtles  are  ever  seen.  The  weight 
of  a  good-sized  turtle  is  from  four  to  five  hundred-weight.  I 
do  not  think  they  are  by  any  means  so  delicate  for  table  use  as 
the  much  smaller  ones  in  the  West  Indies. 

Fish  are  abundant  round  the  island,  and  of  many  kinds — 
mullet,  rock -cod,  cavallas,  and  others.  They  are  apparently 
good,  for  tropical  fish,  but  of  little  account  to  those  accustomed 
to  the  northern  turbot  and  haddock.  The  wild  quadrupeds 
and  decapods,  which  may  here  be  classed  together,  as  their 


PLATE  XXXIX.— DIAGRAM  OF  THE  VERTICAL  DISTRIBUTION 


iirEMPERATURE  BETWEEN  TRISTAN  D'ACUNHA  AND  STATION  343. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


229 


habits  and  propensities  are  very  similar,  are  rats  and  land- 
crabs;  both  doing  a  great  deal  of  damage  in  the  gardens  by 
destroying  the  roots  of  vegetables  and  fruit-trees.  The  rats 
kept  out  of  the  way  during  the  day,  but  we  often  saw  the 
crabs ;  and  we  were  told  to  knock  them  on  the  head  (or  what- 
ever answers  that  purpose)  whenever  we  fell  in  with  them. 

I  am  almost  disappointed  that  we  did  not  see  the  "  rollers," 
although,  for  many  reasons,  their  occurring  just  at  that  time 
would  have  been  very  inconvenient.  It  must  be  a  wonderful 
phenomenon,  an  enormously  heavy  swell  arising  in  a  perfectly 
calm  sea,  without  any  apparent  cause,  and  breaking  against  the 
leeward  coast  of  the  island  with  almost  irresistible  fury.  There 
was  a  slight  threatening  of  something  of  the  kind  as  we  em- 
barked with  more  than  usual  difficulty  at  Tartar  Stairs  on  the 
2d  of  April,  and  bid  farewell  to  Captain  East  and  his  model 
colony,  thinking  how  comparatively  easy  it  was  to  make  a  lit- 
tle corner  of  the  world  tidy  and  comfortable  and  in  every  way 
respectable — if  it  were  under  discipline,  and  were  not  expected 
to  be  self-supporting. 

At  day -break  on  the  3d  we  steamed  out  of  Clarence  Bay, 
and  swung  ship  for  errors  of  the  compasses.  In  the  afternoon 
we  put  over  the  dredge  with  fair  result.  The  assemblage  of 
animal  forms  was  very  much  like  that  off  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
with  the  addition  of  a  few  more  tropical  species,  such  as  Stylas- 
ter  erubescens  and  a  species  of  Hemi-euryale.  In  the  evening 
we  set  sail,  and  proceeded  toward  our  next  place  of  call,  San 
Iago,  in  the  Cape  Verde  group. 

On  the  4th  we  sounded  in  1260  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of 
globigerina  ooze,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of  2°'l  C. ;  and  on 
the  6th,  in  2350  fathoms.  The  sounding  -  tube  brought  up  a 
few  globigerina  shells  and  grains  of  manganese;  the  bottom 
temperature  was  0°*4  C.  The  dredge  was  put  over,  but,  un- 
fortunately, it  came  up  with  the  tangles  foul  and  over  the 
mouth.    The  number  of  animals  was,  consequently,  small ;  but 


230 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


three  fine  specimens  of  a  new  species  of  Poreellanaster,  re- 
markable for  a  series  of  long  spines  running  along  the  centre 
of  the  back  of  each  ray,  two  samples  of  JJrisinga,  broken,  as 
usual,  a  few  of  Ophioglypha  bullata,  and  a  bryozoon  had  fortu- 
nately stuck  to  the  outside  of  the  net.  From  the  temperature, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  animals  procured  by  the  dredge, 
there  could  be  little  doubt  that  we  had  slipped  off  the  ridge  on 
its  western  side,  and  that  the  sounding  was  in  the  southern 
section  of  the  western  trough  of  the  Atlantic.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  after  having  made  good  125  miles,  we  sounded  in 
2250  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of  ordinary  globigerina  ooze,  and 
a  bottom  temperature  of  1°*7  C.  In  the  interval  we  had  passed 
over,  or  close  to,  the  position  where  the  Gazelle  sounded  in 
1640  fathoms.  It  therefore  appears,  both  from  this  and  from 
the  remarkable  change  in  bottom  temperature,  that  we  had 
crossed  the  ridge,  and  that  our  sounding  on  the  7th  was  in 
the  eastern  basin  of  the  Atlantic,  where  all  experience  led  us 
to  expect  a  considerably  higher  temperature  than  in  the  south- 
western. We  took  a  series  of  temperature  soundings  down  to 
1500  fathoms,  and  in  the  evening  we  crossed  the  equator  for 
the  sixth  time  since  leaving  home. 

On  the  9th  we  were  close  to  our  position  on  the  21st  of  Au- 
gust, 1873  (Station  CIL),  and  we  put  over  the  dredge  in  2450 
fathoms.  The  dredge  came  up  nearly  empty,  with  only  a  small 
Euplectella,  and  a  fragment  of  a  large  hexactinellid  sponge. 
The  bag  contained  a  small  quantity  of  globigerina  ooze. 

For  the  next  few  days  we  continued  our  course,  sometimes 
stopping  to  take  temperature  soundings  for  the  first  couple  of 
hundred  fathoms.  The  weather  was  fine,  with  light  northerly 
and  north-westerly  breezes,  which  somewhat  retarded  our  prog- 
ress. On  the  afternoon  of  the  16th,  we  sighted  the  peaks  of 
Fogo  and  San  Iago,  and  after  dark  the  lights  of  Porto  Praya ; 
and  as  the  night  was  remarkably  fine,  we  went  into  Porto  Praya 
Roads  and  anchored  in  twelve  fathoms  off  the  town.   The  next 


chap,  iv.]  THE  VOYAGE  HOME.  231 

day  we  landed  and  revisited  the  "  sights"  of  the  town  and  neigh- 
borhood. In  the  evening  we  weighed,  and  proceeded  under 
steam  and  sail  toward  Porto  Grande,  in  San  Vicente,  where  we 
anchored  on  the  evening  of  the  18th. 


Irrigation,  Porto  Praya. 


We  remained  a  week  at  Porto  Grande,  as  the  good  old  ship 
had  to  be  put  all  to  rights  for  inspection  and  paying-oif ;  and 
we  had  some  pleasant  rides  among  the  hills.  The  town  was 
wonderfully  improved  since  our  former  visit,  many  new  houses 
built,  the  whole  place  cleaned  up  and  made  more  tidy,  and  in 
many  places  trees  planted  along  the  streets.  In  main  features, 
however,  San  Vicente  was  just  the  same  —  the  same  barren, 
unlovely  wilderness,  and  the  same  fervent  heat,  and  the  vult- 
ures still  gorging  themselves  on  the  putrid  flesh  of  the  car- 
casses half  buried  in  the  sand  outside  the  town. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  we  weighed  and  left  Porto 
Grande.  Toward  midday  we  rounded  the  southern  part  of 
the  Island  of  San  Antonio,  and  shaped  our  course  toward  the 
Acores,  with  a  good  breeze  from  the  north.  For  the  next  week 
we  proceeded  on  our  course,  the  weather  fine,  with  light  winds ; 


232 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


and  on  the  3d  of  May  we  stopped  and  sounded  in  2965  fath- 
oms, with  a  bottom  of  red  clay,  and  a  bottom  temperature  of 
2°-3  C,  lat.  26°  16'  K,  long.  33°  33'  W.  We  were  therefore, 
on  the  combined  evidence  of  the  depth  and  the  temperature, 
in  the  prolongation  to  the  westward  of  nearly  the  deepest  por- 
tion of  the  eastern  basin  of  the  Atlantic.  We  sounded  again 
on  the  6th,  lat.  32°  30'  K,  long.  36°  8'  W.,  in  1675  fathoms, 
with  a  temperature  of  2°*7  C,  and  a  bottom  of  pure  globi- 
gerina  ooze ;  so  that  we  had  now  passed  over  the  edge  of  the 
trough,  and  were  once  more  on  the  "  Dolphin  Rise."  Here 
we  fixed  the  position  of  our  three  hundred  and  fifty -fourth 
and  last  deep-sea  observing  station. 

From  this  point  we  made  our  way  home  as  speedily  as  we 
could ;  but  our  friends  in  England  in  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1876  may  well  remember  the  continued  north-east  winds  which 
lasted  until  far  on  in  the  spring.  These  winds  were  dead  in 
our  teeth ;  and  as  our  coal  and  fresh  provisions  began  to  get 
low,  we,  in  our  weariness  and  impatience,  were  driven  to  the 
verge  of  despair.  At  length,  hopeless  of  any  relenting,  we  re- 
solved to  go  in  to  Yigo  and  get  some  coal  and  some  fresh  pro- 
visions, and  a  run  on  shore.  As  we  steamed  up  Yigo  Bay  on 
the  20th  of  May,  the  Channel  Fleet,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Beauchamp  Seymour,  one  of  the  finest  squadrons  of 
iron-clads  ever  afloat,  gradually  resolved  itself,  ship  after  ship, 
out  of  the  mist.  They  were  just  gathering,  and  their  tale  was 
nearly  complete ;  but  before  we  left  next  day  the  fleet  con- 
sisted of  Her  Majesty's  ships  Minotaur,  Iron  Duke,  Monarch, 
Resistance,  Defense,  Black  Prince,  Hector,  and  the  dispatch- 
boat  Lively  in  attendance.  As  we  rounded  the  stern  of  the 
Defense  to  our  anchorage,  her  band  struck  up  the  air  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home/7  and  tried  the  nerves  of  some  of  us  far  more 
than  they  had  ever  been  tried  among  the  savages  or  the  ice- 
bergs. 

Yigo  seemed  very  charming,  but  we  had  little  time  to  enjoy 


CHAP.  IV  ] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


233 


it.  We  bad  all  many  friends  in  the  fleet,  and  much  to  say  and 
hear.  While  we  were  lying  in  Vigo  Bay,  we  were  aware  of  a 
change  of  the  weather,  the  clouds  hurrying  up  from  the  south- 
west ;  so,  early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  21st,  we  weighed  and 
proceeded  to  sea.  Our  anticipations  were  not  disappointed ; 
outside  the  bay  it  was  blowing  half  a  gale  from  the  south-west, 
and  the  old  Challenger  sped  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and  up 
Channel  at  a  pace  very  unusual  to  her.  On  the  evening  of 
the  23d  we  passed  Ushant  Light,  and  at  9.15  p.m.,  on  the  24th 
of  May,  1876,  after  an  absence  of  three  years  and  a  half,  we 
stopped  and  came  to  an  anchor  in  seven  fathoms'  water  at 
Spithead. 
II.— 10 


234 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


APPENDIX  A. 

Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  the  Falkland  Islands  and 
Tristan  d'Acunha. 


CO  03  ^ 
co  est- 

°?  CT>  CT< 

CCv  » 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

•2  tD 

S  ts  o 

s  •  ^ 

o  10  ■* 

d  — 1  o 
■J   .  si) 

£-  CO  io 

■2  .  ti 

5«  § 

o  « 

*kk 

l"i 

£°  r 

Surface. 

8°-2  C. 

14° -2  C. 

15° -3  C. 

19° -7  0. 

23° -0C. 

22° -0  C. 

21° '6  C. 

25 

5  '7 

13  -7 

11  '2 

15  -6 

21  -7 

21  -0 

50 

4  -4 

6  -2 

9  -0 

7  -8 

20  -0 

20  -4 

18  -7 

75 

4  '2 

4  -2 

6  -7 

6  -9 

19  -6 

17  -8 

IS  -5 

100 

4  -0 

2  -5 

6  -3 

6  -8 

17  -6 

15  -6 

16  '7 

125 

5  "0 

17  "2 

14  '2 

15  "3 

150 

4  -4 

4  -8 

16  '2 

12  -0 

14  -8 

1T5 

1  -9 

4  -0 

4  -5 

14  '6 

11  -o 

14  -1 

200 

3  '4 

1  -6 

3  -8 

4  -6 

13  -2 

10  -o 

12  '5 

225 

1  -7 

3  -9 

4  -4 

13  '3 

7  -2 

12  -4 

250 

2  -2 

4  -2 

4  -4 

12  -6 

5  -7 

10  -6 

275 

1  '7 

3  -7 

4  -0 

11  -3 

5  -2 

9  -0 

300 

3  '4 

1  '6 

3  -5 

3  '4 

10  '2 

4  '6 

7  '2 

400 

3  -S 

1  '6 

3  -2 

3  "4 

4  '8 

4  '3 

4  '6 

500 

2  -5 

3  -9 

3  -0 

3  -7 

5  '2 

3  -6 

600 

2  -6 

2  -7 

3  -0 

3  -3 

3  -4 

700 

2  -5 

2  -6 

2  -6 

2  -7 

800 

1  '7 

2  -7 

2  -3 

2  -5 

2  -6 

900 

1  -6 

2  '5 

1  '8 

2  -4 

2  -7 

1000 

1  -6 

2  -2 

2  -4 

2  -7 

2  -5 

1100 

1  "6 

2  -0 

1  -8 

1  -3 

2  -6 

1200 

1  '6 

2  -2 

1  '6 

2  -4 

2  -5 

1300 

1  '4 

1  -3 

2  -0 

2  -5 

2  -9 

1400 

1  -3 

2  -1 

1  -6 

2  -1 

2  -4 

1500 

1  -o 

1  -9 

2  -2 

2  -3 

2  -3 

Temperature-* 
at  Bottom.  ) 

l°-7 

0°-3 

—  0°-4 

2° -7 

o°-o 

—  0°-4 

—  0°-4 

Depth  at  Bot-| 
torn.  / 

1035 

2040 

2425 

600 

1900 

2800 

2650 

CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


235 


m.£>  © 

1st* 

6^  S3 

UtSUbll  111 

Fathoms. 

£o  r 

c-  ^ 

•2  _  tx 

5"S  § 

cro-"< 
•J  .  s3o 

C  CO  TO 

•J    .  60 

"5  ■»  c 
5  «  o 

TO  TO 

.2  ti 

fl  TO  TO 

£  TO  (J* 

•J   .  Si 

K 

jjTOcn 

•2  .  ti 

£    •  £ 

S3  § 

Surface. 

19°-9C. 

21°  -2  C. 

18°-0  C. 

17° -9 C. 

18° -0  C. 

17**8  C 

19°-4  C. 

20° -3  C. 

25 

17  -6 

20  -0 

17  -7 

17  -2 

17  -0 

14  -9 

16  '8 

18  -1 

50 

14  -0 

19  -3 

13  '9 

15  -0 

14  -4 

13  -9 

14  -2 

15  -1 

T5 

13  -2 

IS  -7 

13  -1 

13  '9 

13  -3 

13  '6 

12  -9 

13  -6 

100 

11  -8 

17  -8 

12  -3 

13  '4 

13  -0 

13  -0 

12  -S 

13  '3 

125 

10  -2 

16  '6 

11  -8 

13  -1 

12  -2 

12  -8 

12  -3 

11  -8 

150 

7  '8 

15  -0 

10  -7 

13  -0 

12  -2 

12  '8 

11  -o 

11  -7 

175 

6  '3 

12  '2 

8  '8 

12  -8 

12  -0 

12  -2 

9  -6 

10  -6 

200 

5  -5 

15  -4 

7  '2 

11  *7 

10  -6 

11  -o 

8  -0 

10  -1 

225 

5  1 

12  -6 

6  '4 

10  -2 

9  -2 

10  -o 

7  -2 

9  -0 

250 

4  -5 

11  '3 

5  -2 

9  -0 

8  '3 

8  -5 

6  -6 

8  -0 

275 

4  '2 

9  5 

4  -8 

7  -7 

7  -2 

7  -3 

5  -8 

7  -0 

300 

3  -S 

7  -7 

4  -5 

7  -0 

5  '3 

6  -7 

5  '3 

6  -3 

400 

3  -8 

4  -5 

4  -0 

5  -7 

4  -1 

3  -8 

4  -4 

4  -5 

500 

3  -7 

3  -8 

3  -0 

3  '4 

2  -9 

3  -0 

3  '3 

3  -3 

600 

2  -6 

3  -0 

3  -2 

3  '9 

2  -7 

3  -0 

3  -0 

3  '2 

700 

2  -6 

2  "8 

2  -5 

2  '7 

2  -6 

4  -3 

2  '7 

2  '8 

800 

2  -6 

3'3 

2  -5 

3  -1 

2  -5 

2  -7 

2  -5 

2  '6 

900 

2  -5 

2  -8 

2  -5 

3  -2 

2  -3 

2  '8 

2  -4 

2  '8 

1000 

2  '2 

2  *4 

2  "3 

2  '4 

2  '4 

2  "6 

2  *3 

2  "5 

1100 

1200 

1300 

1400 

1500 

Tempera-  "j 

ture  at  y 

— 0°'4 

—  0°'3 

—  0°'6 

—  0°-3 

l°-3 

0o,4 

l°-2 

l°-5 

Bottom.  J 

Depth  at  1 
Bottom,  j 

2775 

2900 

2675 

2440 

1715 

2200 

2025 

1915 

236 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  iv. 


APPENDIX  B. 

Table  of  Temperatures  observed  between  Tristan  d'Acunha  and  the 

Azores. 


coc»^ 

So  o 

a 

Depth  in  Fathoms. 

ok* 

^O)  CO 

C  co  .-. 

^?-co 
C  <x  "-■ 

<ODO 

^  t-CO 

on" 

°tf  CO 

•I  .d 
£^  § 

•J   .  si 

3   .  &i 

<£  -w  S 

3  .  si 

i  so 

c«  i-S  3 

Mi-Ik! 

Surface. 

23° -0  C. 

24° -4  C. 

25° -0  C. 

24° -7  C. 

24° -4  C. 

25° -1  C. 

26° -1  C. 

25 

21  '0 

21  -0 

22  *2 

24  -1 

50 

17  -8 

18  -3 

20  -7 

22  -1 

20  '6 

21  '8 

21  -9 

T5 

16  -3 

16  -3 

IS  -4 

19  -6 

100 

15  -4 

14  -9 

16  -7 

17  -7 

15  -1 

14  '4 

14  -0 

125 

14  -1 

14  -3 

15  -7 

14  "5 

150 

13  -3 

13  -3 

15  -0 

12  -9 

11  -4 

10  -8 

10  -3 

1T5 

12  -4 

12  -3 

13  -8 

11  -2 

200 

11  -6 

11  -6 

12  -6 

9  -9 

9  -0 

3  -2 

S  -3 

225 

11  -o 

9  -8 

11  -8 

9  "2 

7  -9 

7  -6 

250 

10  -5 

9  -1 

10  -4 

7  '8 

7  -0 

7  -0 

2T5 

9  "7 

8  -4 

9  -4 

7  -2 

6  -0 

6  '4 

300 

8  '2 

7  *9 

8  "7 

6  *0 

4  '1 

5  *7 

5  '8 

400 

5  -7 

4  -6 

4  -6 

3  -6 

3  -6 

4  -0 

4  -5 

500 

3  -7 

3  -6 

4  -3 

3  -2 

3  -2 

4  -0 

3  -9 

600 

3  '8 

3  -0 

3  -3 

3  -2 

3  -8 

4  -0 

3  -7 

700 

2  '6 

3  -4 

3  I 

3  -1 

3  '5 

3  -9 

3  -4 

800 

2  -4 

3  -0 

3  -2 

3  '2 

3  -4 

3  '6 

2  -8 

900 

2  '4 

3  -0 

2  '8 

2  '2 

3  -3 

3  -3 

3  '5 

1000 

2  -6 

3  '8 

2  -8 

2  '9 

2  *9 

2  *8 

3  '2 

1100 

2'7 

2  '2 

1200 

3  -2 

2  '7 

1300 

2  -3 

2  '9 

1400 

2  "3 

2  -7 

1500 

2  "4 

2  -0 

Temperature^ 
at  Bottom.  1 

2° '3 

l°-9 

2° -5 

l°-8 

2° '5 

2°6 

3°-0 

Depth  at  Bot--> 
torn.  / 

1425 

1890 

1240 

1990 

1415 

1500 

1475 

CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


237 


il 

De  th  in 
Fathoms. 

iff 
£  .  m 

Iff 

.2 

Station  No. 
Lat.     2°  4S 
Long.  14°  41 

.2 

h* 
.2 

m 

ion  No, 
26°  21 
33°  37 

o 

C  CO  TO 

B  .  ui 

-3  H  § 

Stat 
Lat. 
Lonf 

"§  —  o1 
-e  as  o 

OS  «  c 

Surface. 

26°-7C. 

27°  "1C. 

28° -2C. 

2S° 

'2C. 

27° -8C. 

28°  '9  C. 

21° -5  C. 

21°'1C. 

25 

22 

•2 

19  -1 

50 

21  -9 

19  '0 

22  -1 

14 

•o 

18 

•4 

15 

•2 

20 

•o 

18  -0 

75 

17  -4 

100 

12  -2 

12  *5 

11  '6 

12 

'8 

14 

•2 

13 

•3 

17 

•7 

17  '2 

125 

150 

10  '6 

9  "8 

9  *4 

11 

•2 

12 

•o 

12 

'3 

16 

•4 

175 

200 

S  -7 

7  "8 

8  "2 

9 

'3 

8 

•8 

10 

•3 

15 

•o 

15  '5 

225 

7  -7 

7  "5 

8  -7 

9 

•2 

7 

•7 

8 

•6 

15 

•o 

250 

7  -8 

7  '2 

6  -7 

7 

■s 

7 

•6 

8 

*0 

14 

•o 

275 

7  -1 

6  -4 

7  -0 

7 

•2 

6 

•7 

7 

•2 

12 

•7 

300 

6  -9 

6  '5 

7  -8 

6 

•2 

6 

•6 

6 

•5 

12 

•2 

11  -9 

400 

6  -0 

5  -6 

4 

•7 

C 

•o 

5 

•o 

9 

•5 

10  -2 

500 

4  '8 

4  -3 

3 

•8 

4 

•5 

4 

•3 

7 

•8 

7  -4 

600 

3  -4 

3  -6 

3 

•9 

5 

•9 

4 

•3 

6 

•2 

7  -0 

700 

3  *8 

3  -7 

4 

•1 

4 

•0 

4 

•2 

4 

•7 

5  -8 

800 

3  -2 

3  -S 

3 

•7 

4 

•2 

4 

•o 

5 

•2 

4  -8 

900 

3  -2 

3  -4 

4 

•3 

4 

•6 

3 

•7 

4 

•o 

4  -3 

1000 

3  '2 

4  *0 

3 

•6 

4 

•5 

3 

•4 

3 

•7 

4  "0 

1100 

Q  >1 

3 

•5 

4 

•1 

3 

•3 

3 

•8 

3  '3 

1200 

3  -0 

3 

•1 

3 

•4 

3 

•4 

2 

•1 

2  '7 

1300 

2  '9 

3 

•1 

3 

•0 

3 

•o 

3  -1 

3  '5 

1400 

2  "7 

2 

•7 

2 

■9 

2 

•5 

3 

•2 

3  '6 

1500 

2  -4 

2 

•4 

2 

•s 

2 

•4 

2 

•6 

2  '4 

Tempera- 

ture  at  [ 

2° '6 

4° -5 

2°-l 

0° 

•4 

lc 

•7 

lc 

•7 

2' 

•3 

2° '7 

Bottom.  J 

Depth  at  1 
Bottom.  J 

1445 

425 

2010 

2350 

2250 

2250 
Station  102. 

2965 

1675 

238 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  IV. 


APPENDIX  C. 

Table  of  Serial  Temperature  Soundings  down  to  200  Fathoms,  taken 
in  the  South  and  North  Atlantic  in  the  Year  1876. 


Depth,  in  Fathoms. 

Station  No.  324. 
Lat.    36°  9'  S. 
Long.  48°  22'  W. 

Station  No.  339. 
Lat.    17°  26'  S. 

Long.  13°  52'  W. 

Station  No.  340. 
Lat.    14°  33'  S. 
Long.  13°  42'  W. 

Station  No.  341. 
Lat.    12°  16'  S. 
Long.  13°  44'  W. 

Station  No.  342. 
Lat.-    9°  43'  S. 
Long.  13°  51'  W. 

Station  No.  343. 
Lat.     8°  3'  S. 
Long.  14°  27'  W. 

Station  No.  345. 
Lat.     5°  45'  S. 
Long.  14°  25'  W. 

Surface. 

22= -0  C. 

24° -4  C. 

25° -1C. 

26° 

•1C. 

26° 

•7C. 

27° 

■ic. 

28° -2  C. 

10 

21  -0 

24 

•3 

25  -0 

26 

•0 

26 

•8 

27 

•o 

28  -0 

20 

20  -6 

24 

•1 

24  -1 

25 

•7 

26 

•5 

26 

•7 

27  -8 

30 

20  -8 

24 

•o 

24  -3 

24 

•o 

26 

•1 

25 

•o 

26  -4 

40 

20  '7 

21 

•3 

22  -8 

23 

•8 

23 

•3 

22 

•4 

24  -2 

50 

20  '4 

20 

•6 

21  '8 

21 

•9 

21 

•9 

19 

•o 

22  -1 

60 

19 

•5 

20  -8 

20 

•0 

19 

•5 

16 

•8 

IS  -3 

70 

19 

•o 

20  -6 

18 

•5 

17 

•o 

14 

•5 

14  -9 

80 

17 

•8 

18  -8 

16 

•7 

14 

•3 

13 

•2 

13  -6 

90 

16 

•6 

18  -2 

15 

•o 

13 

•0 

13 

•o 

12  -7 

100 

15  '6 

15 

•1 

14  -4 

14 

•o 

12 

•2 

12 

•5 

11  -6 

110 

15 

•o 

13  -3 

12 

•7 

12 

•6 

11 

•9 

11  -o 

120 

14 

•o 

12  -2 

12 

•7 

11 

•6 

11 

•o 

10  -6 

130 

12 

•7 

11  -7 

11 

•8 

11 

•7 

10 

•3 

10  -1 

140 

12 

•2 

11  '5 

10 

•8 

10 

•7 

10 

•o 

9  -3 

150 

12  V0 

11 

•4 

10  -8 

10 

•3 

10 

•6 

9 

•8 

9  -4 

160 

11 

•1 

10  -2 

10 

•0 

10 

•o 

9 

•5 

9  -3 

170 

10 

•8 

9  -1 

9 

•7 

9 

•6 

9 

•1 

9  -0 

180 

10 

•2 

9  -6 

8 

•9 

9 

•3 

9 

•1 

8  -7 

190 

9 

•7 

8  '7 

8 

•7 

9 

•2 

8 

•3 

8  -6 

200 

id  -b 

9 

•o 

S  '2 

8 

•3 

8 

•7 

7 

•8 

8  -2 

Depth  in 
Fathoms. 

Station  No.  346. 
Lat.     2°  42'  S. 
Long.  14°  41'  W. 

Station  No.  347. 
Lat.     0°  15'  S. 
Long.  14°  25'  W. 

Station  No.  348. 
Lat.     3°  10'  N. 
Long.  14°  51'  W. 

Station  No.  349. 
Lat.     5°  28'  N. 
Long.  14°  38'  W. 

Station  No.  350. 
Lat.      7°  33'  N. 
Long.  15°  16'  W. 

Station  No.  351. 
Lat.     9°  9'N. 
Long.  16°  41'  W. 

Station  No.  352. 
Lat.  10°55'N. 
Long.  17°  46'  W. 

Station  No.  353. 
Lat.  26°21'N. 
Long.  33°  37'  W. 

Surface. 

28°'2C. 

27° '8  C. 

28° 

■9C. 

28°-6C. 

28° 

•9C. 

27° 

•7C. 

25° -4  C. 

21°-5C. 

10 

28 

•o 

26 

•8 

2S 

•9 

28 

•4 

28 

•9 

26 

•6 

23  -9 

19  -4 

20 

25 

•6 

25 

•6 

27 

•9 

21 

•2 

23 

•9 

18 

•9 

20  -6 

19  -4 

30 

16 

•8 

23 

•3 

21 

•6 

17 

•o 

20 

•3 

16 

•7 

17  '5 

20  -1 

40 

14 

•1 

21 

•o 

16 

•7 

15 

•7 

18 

•2 

15 

•7 

16  -1 

19  -6 

50 

14 

•o 

18 

•4 

15 

•2 

15 

•1 

16 

•9 

15 

•3 

15  -0 

20  -0 

60 

13 

•3 

16 

•6 

14 

•7 

14 

•7 

15 

•6 

14 

•4 

14  -0 

19  -3 

70 

13 

•2 

15 

•8 

14 

•2 

14 

•o 

15 

•3 

14 

•5 

13  -5 

18  -6 

80 

13 

•3 

14 

•8 

13 

•9 

13 

•8 

14 

•8 

14 

•2 

13  -1 

18  '4 

90 

13 

•2 

15 

•4 

13 

•4 

13 

•7 

14 

•4 

13 

•9 

13  -1 

18  -1 

100 

12 

•8 

14 

•2 

13 

•3 

13 

•4 

13 

•8 

13 

•4 

12  '8 

17  -7 

110 

12 

•7 

14 

•0 

13 

•3 

13 

•o 

13 

•1 

12 

•6 

12  -3 

17  '2 

120 

12 

•2 

13 

•3 

13 

•0 

12 

•8 

13 

•1 

12 

•2 

12  -2 

17  -2 

130 

12 

•1 

13 

•o 

12 

•8 

12 

•4 

12 

•8 

11 

•7 

11  -9 

16  '7 

140 

11 

•4 

12 

•3 

12 

•4 

12 

•o 

12 

•7 

11 

•4 

11  '7 

16  '3 

150 

11 

•2 

12 

•0 

12 

•3 

11 

•6 

12 

•5 

11 

•1 

11  "8 

16  -4 

160 

10 

•7 

11 

•8 

11 

•6 

11 

•1 

12 

•0 

10 

•4 

11  '6 

16  -1 

170 

10 

•2 

11 

•2 

10 

•9 

10 

•8 

11 

•3 

10 

•o 

11  '2 

15  -6 

180 

9 

•8 

10 

•o 

10 

■4 

10 

•4 

10 

•7 

9 

•7 

11  -2 

15  '6 

190 

9 

•5 

9 

•8 

9 

•8 

10 

•0 

10 

•5 

9 

•2 

10  -5 

15  '3 

200 

9 

•3 

8 

•8 

10 

•3 

9 

•1 

10 

•2 

8 

*7 

10  -5 

15  -0 

CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


239 


APPENDIX  D. 


Specific-gravity  Observations  taken  on  the  Homeward  Voyage  between 
the  Falkland  Islands  and  Portsmouth. 


Date, 
1816. 

Latitude 
South. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (&)  at 
which  Water 
was  taken. 

1 

Temperature  1 

■o 

s 

Temperature 
(t')  durins: 

Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
Water  at 
4°  —  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°'56. 
Water  at 
4°  —  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

Feb.  7 

50° 

41' 

56° 

20' 

Surface. 

7° 

5C. 

90. 

3C. 

1-02637 

1-02517 

1-02601 

8 

4S 

37 

55 

17 

1035 

7 

7 

9  • 

9 

1 '02635 

1*02525 

1-02667 

" 

25 

5 

7 

10  • 

4 

1-02627 

1-02526 

1-02693 

50 

4 

4 

9  * 

9 

1-02631 

1-02521 

1-02704 

" 

100 

4 

0 

10  • 

0 

1-02631 

1-02523 

1-02710 

200 

3 

4 

10  • 

1 

1-02030 

1-02524 

1-02715 

" 

300 

3 

4 

10  • 

1 

1-02630 

1-02524 

1-02715 

" 

400 

3 

4 

10  • 

1 

1-02645 

1-02540 

1-02730 

" 

Bottom. 

1 

7 

11  • 

5 

1-02611 

1-02528 

1-02730 

9 

47 

50 

56* 

"9 

Surface. 

10 

8 

10  • 

7 

1-02634 

1-02535 

1-02632 

10 

45 

1 

56 

9 

10 

5 

11  • 

7 

1-02608 

1-02527 

1-02630 

11 

42 

32 

56 

27 

2040 

« 

13 

8 

13  ' 

7 

1  '02564 

1-02525 

1-02562 

25 

13 

7 

16  ' 

s 

1-02498 

1-02530 

1-02569 

50 

6 

2 

16  " 

3 

1-02497 

1-02528 

1-026S9 

100 

2 

5 

15  ' 

9 

1-02503 

1-02512 

1-0270S 

200 

1 

6 

16  * 

1 

1-02497 

1-02514 

1-02714 

300 

1 

6 

16  * 

2 

1-02493 

1-02511 

1-02711 

400 

1 

•  6 

16  • 

2 

1-02504 

1-02522 

1-02722 

800 

1 

6 

16  * 

1 

1-02556 

1-02573 

1-02771 

Bottom. 

0 

3 

16  ' 

3 

1-02564 

1-02584 

1-02782 

12 

41 

39 

54 

40 

2425 

Surface. 

14 

•  8 

16  * 

3 

1-0253S 

1-02559 

1-02544 

Bottom. 

—0 

•  4 

15  ' 

9 

1-02544 

1-02553 

1-02767 

13 

39 

33 

54 

20 

Surface. 

11 

•  3 

13  ' 

4 

1  -02568 

1-02526 

1-02612 

" 

3S 

54 

54 

17 

•  2 

18  * 

G 

1-02459 

1-02540 

1-02471 

14 

37 

17 

53 

52 

600 

(( 

17 

•  6 

17  ' 

8 

1-02470 

1-02530 

1-02476 

u 

25 

15 

•  6 

17  ' 

1 

1-02499 

1-02538 

1-02538 

50 

7 

•  8 

16  ' 

9 

1-02458 

1-02493 

1-02632 

100 

16  • 

8 

1-02534 

1-02567 

200 

4 

•"e 

16  • 

S 

1  '02503 

1-02535 

1-02722 

400 

3 

•  4 

17  • 

0 

1-02500 

1-02537 

1-02727 

Bottom. 

2 

•  7 

16  ' 

9 

1-02510 

1-02544 

1-02740 

15 

35 

"4 

55* 

"0 

Surface. 

21 

•  8 

21  • 

1 

1-01655 

Too  li 

?ht  for 

" 

35 

1 

55 

18 

22 

•  2 

21  • 

6 

1-01215 

reduction. 

26 

35 

12 

53 

7 

"21 

22 

•  0 

22  • 

3 

1-02113 

1-02291 

1-02122 

27 

35 

25 

52 

35 

(i 

23 

.  £ 

23 

6 

1-02444 

1-02667 

1-02450 

28 

35 

39 

50 

47 

1900 

23 

•  3 

23 

6 

1-02460 

1-02680 

1  -02470 

25 

21 

•  7 

23  • 

1 

1-02475 

1-02682 

1-02519 

50 

20 

•  0 

22  • 

9 

1-02494 

1-02692 

1-0257S 

100 

17 

•  6 

22 

9 

1-02471 

1-02670 

1-02615 

200 

13 

•  2 

22 

9 

1-02428 

1-02627 

1-02670 

a 

300 

10 

•  2 

23 

0 

1-02385 

1-02587 

1-02690 

400 

4 

•  8 

23 

0 

1-02450 

1-02653 

1-02832 

800 

2 

•  3 

23 

05 

1-02461 

1-02666 

1-02860 

Bottom. 

0 

•  0 

23 

1 

1-02445 

1-02650 

1-02S60 

29 

36 

"9 

48 

22 

2800 

Surface. 

21 

'  9 

22 

0 

1-02440 

1-02612 

1-02443 

Bottom. 

-0 

•  4 

22 

2 

1-02433 

1-02610 

1-02S20 

March  1 

36 

"O 

47 

33 

Surface. 

21 

•  3 

21 

5 

1-02492 

1-02649 

1-02498 

(i 

20 

22 

3 

1-02503 

1-02685 

2 

36 

44 

46 

16 

2650 

Surface. 

22* 

:'o 

22 

4 

1  -02499 

1  -02682 

1-02511 

cc 

25 

21 

•  0 

23 

2 

1-02475 

1-02682 

1-02540 

50 

18 

•  7 

22 

4 

1-02513 

1-02695 

1-02612 

(( 

100 

16 

•  7 

22 

6 

1-024S5 

1-02676 

1-02646 

200 

12 

•  5 

22 

55 

1-02452 

1-02642 

1-02706 

300 

7 

•  2 

22 

7 

1-02490 

1-02682 

1-02831 

(( 

400 

4 

•  0 

22 

9 

1-02392 

1-02590 

1-02772 

(( 

800 

2 

•  6 

22 

8 

1-02347 

1-02543 

1-02738 

l£ 

Bottom. 

-0 

•  4 

23 

2 

1-02383 

1-02591 

1-02805 

240 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


Date 
1876.' 

Latitude 
South. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (i)  at 
which  Water 
was  taken. 

Temperature 

a 

Temperature 

(t')  during 
Observation. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t'. 
WTater  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°-56. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

March  3 

37° 

3' 

44° 

17' 

2775 

Surface. 

20° 

oc. 

21c 

•  5C. 

1-0233S 

1-02494 

1-02380 

Bottom. 

-0 

4 

21 

•  6 

1  '02420 

1-02580 

1*02793 

4 

36 

48 

42 

45 

2900 

Surface. 

21 

2 

21 

•  5 

1 -024S1 

1  -02639 

1*02490 

Bottom. 

-0 

3 

22 

'  2 

1  -02444 

1-02623 

1*02836 

5 

37 

32 

42 

0 

Surface. 

20 

7 

21 

•  1 

1-02462 

1-02612 

1  *02474 

6 

38 

39 

36 

2900 

17 

6 

18 

•  8 

1-02493 

1-02578 

1*02525 

7 

37 

31 

36 

7 

2675 

18 

7 

IS 

•  7 

1-02530 

1-02610 

1*02610 

200 

7 

2 

19 

•  6 

1-02470 

1-02576 

1-02725 

400 

4 

0 

19 

•45 

1*02441 

1-02540 

1-02727 

2000 

1 

7 

19 

•  4 

1  -02490 

1*02588 

1  -02794 

Bottom. 

-0 

6 

19 

•  6 

1-02477 

1-02582 

1-02796 

8 

37 

45 

33 

0 

2440 

Surface. 

17 

9 

18 

•  5 

1  -02549 

1  -02627 

1*02562 

Bottom. 

-0 

3 

20 

•  3 

1-02471 

1  -02607 

1*02820 

9 

37 

47 

30 

20 

1715 

Surface. 

18 

05 

18 

•  7 

1-02544 

1*02628 

1*02560 

25 

17 

0 

20 

•  1 

1-02494 

1-02612 

1-02573 

50 

14 

4 

20 

•  0 

1-02509 

1*02624 

1-02650 

100 

13 

1 

20 

•  7 

1-02488 

1*02625 

1-02673 

200 

10 

6 

17 

•  S 

1-02536 

1-02595 

1  -02696 

300 

5 

3 

19 

•  8 

1  -02441 

1*02551 

1*02723 

400 

4 

1 

17 

•  7 

1  '02490 

1  '02547 

1*02731 

800 

2 

5 

18 

•  0 

1  -02505 

1  '02569 

1*02763 

Bottom. 

1 

3 

20 

•  7 

1  '02457 

1  '02591 

1*02795 

10 

37 

29 

27 

31 

2200 

Surface. 

17 

8 

18 

•  6 

1-02531 

1-02612 

1 *02552 

" 

800 

2 

7 

17 

•  7 

1-02502 

1-02559 

1.02753 

1400 

17 

•  9 

1  -02533 

1-02594 

Bottom. 

0 

44 

17 

•85 

1 '02525 

1  -02585 

1-02793 

11 

36 

34 

26 

1 

Surface. 

17 

5 

17 

•  5 

1*02540 

1*02591 

1-02540 

12 

35 

52 

24 

12 

20  • 

0 

20 

•  3 

1  *02481 

1*02602 

1-02490 

13 

35 

36 

21 

12 

2*025 

20 

1 

20 

•  7 

1-02484 

1*02619 

1-02502 

25 

16  • 

8 

22 

•  9 

1  *02424 

1  '02623 

1  -02590 

50 

1  • 

2 

22 

•  4 

1-02446 

1 '02630 

1-0265S 

100 

12  * 

8 

22 

•  4 

1  -02446 

1  '02630 

1-026S6 

200 

8  • 

0 

22 

•  5 

1  -02401 

1-025S6 

1*02723 

300 

5  • 

3 

23 

•  5 

1-02350 

1*02566 

1-02737 

400 

4  ' 

4 

22 

•  6 

1-02363 

1*02553 

1-02737 

800 

2  • 

6 

22 

•  4 

1-02394 

1*02577 

1-02773 

Bottom. 

1  • 

2 

22 

•  6 

1-02401 

1*02591 

1-02796 

35" 

45 

18 

31 

1915 

Surface. 

20  • 

2 

20 

•  S 

1-02473 

1'02611 

1-02491 

800 

2  • 

7 

22 

•  6 

1-02393 

1-025S3 

1-02778 

" 

Bottom. 

1  * 

5 

21 

•  4 

1-02457 

1'02612 

1-02S14 

34' 

"9 

15 

46 

Surface. 

21  • 

8 

22 

•  3 

1-02459 

1 -02640 

1*02464 

32 

24 

13 

5 

i<425 

" 

22  • 

9 

23 

•  3 

1-02464 

1'02674 

1-02477 

25 

21  * 

0 

23 

•  3 

1-02451 

1 '02660 

1-02516 

50 

17  • 

8 

22 

•  8 

1-02457 

1*02654 

1-02591 

100 

15  • 

4 

23 

•  0 

1-02440 

1 *02643 

1-02646 

200 

11 

8 

22 

•  9 

1-02424 

1-02625 

1-02703 

300 

8 

6 

22 

•  8 

1-023S0 

1 *02576 

1-02707 

400 

5 

7 

24 

•  0 

1-023S0 

1*02612 

1-02780 

" 

800 

2 

5 

22 

•  8 

1-02451 

1-02648 

1*02843 

Bottom. 

2 

3 

24 

•  1 

1-02360 

1*02594 

1*02789 

30 

21 

13 

13 

Surface. 

24 

7 

24 

•  0 

1-02462 

1*02695 

1*02443 

27 

54 

13 

13 

1890 

24 

9 

24 

•  5 

1-02457 

1*02707 

1*02448 

25 

21 

0 

24 

•  2 

1-02442 

1*02680 

1*02537 

50 

18 

3 

23 

•  8 

1-02437 

1  -02665 

1*02592 

100 

14 

9 

23 

•  9 

1-02410 

1-02640 

1*02654 

200 

11 

4 

24 

•  1 

1-02371 

1  -02605 

1-026S9 

300 

7 

6 

24 

•  0 

1-02307 

1*02598 

1*02742 

400 

4 

7 

24 

•  2 

1-02333 

1*02570 

1-02751 

SOO 

3 

0 

24 

•  3 

1-02354 

1*02594 

1-02787 

Bottom. 

1 

9 

24 

•  5 

1-02353 

1*02600 

1-02800 

24 

38 

13" 

36 

1240 

Surface. 

25 

0 

25 

•  1 

1-02450 

1*02718 

1*02455 

25 

22 

2 

24 

•  9 

1-02459 

1*02718 

1*02540 

50 

20 

7 

24 

•75 

1-02413 

1*02668 

1*02531 

100 

10 

8 

24 

•  6 

1-02407 

1*02659 

1*02625 

Bottom. 

2 

5 

24 

•  3 

1-02408 

1-02650 

1-02S43 

23' 

27 

13' 

51 

Surface. 

24 

95 

25 

•  1 

1-02456 

1*02722 

1-02460 

21 

15 

14 

2 

1990 

24 

7 

24 

•85 

1-02504 

1*02762 

1-02510 

25 

24 

1 

24 

•  9 

1-02472 

1*02730 

1-02493 

CHAP.  IV. 


] 


THE  VOYAGE  HOME. 


241 


Date, 

Latitude 

Longitude 

rg 
0  el- 

1 (<5)  at 
Water 
;aken. 

CD 

3 

£ 

i 

erature 
luring 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15° -56. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

c  Grav- 
at  t'. 
ter  at 

1876. 

South. 

West. 

's  co 
g< 

(5 

Deptl 
was  1 

a. 
S 

<u 

!S  " 
m 

>>  * 

a, 

m 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

lVlt.ll  C  II  L\. 

50 

22° 

ic. 

23°  •  7C. 

1 '02488 

1*02712 

1  02593 

100 

17 

7 

24  *S5 

1*02418 

1*02675 

1*02618 

200 

9 

9 

25  *  0 

1  '02343 

1 '02605 

1*02716 

300 

6 

0 

25  •  0 

1*02396 

1  "02658 

1*02821 

(( 

400 

•3 

6 

25  '  0 

1 '02400 

1-02662 

1  02852 

22 

19°  55' 

13°  56' 

Surface. 

24 

7 

25  *  0 

1  -02498 

1-02760 

1'02507 

23 

17  26 

13  52 

1415 

<t 

24 

5 

24  *  6 

1*02518 

1  -02768 

1 *02520 

25 

24 

0 

24  *  9 

1  -02467 

1*02726 

1  '02494 

50 

20 

6 

25  *  2 

1'02440 

1*02710 

1*02577 

100 

15  ' 

5 

25  •  1 

1  -02382 

1  02649 

1  U2b49 

200 

9  ' 

0 

24  '  9 

1  '02334 

1*02592 

1  "02716 

300 

4  ' 

0 

24  '  9 

1-02311 

1  *02570 

1*02758 

400 

3  " 

7 

25  '  1 

1 '02306 

1*02570 

1  "02764 

„ 

Bottom. 

2  ' 

5 

25  "  1 

1-02314 

1  -02580 

1*02775 

24 

14  33 

13  42 

1500 

Surface. 

25  ' 

1 

25  *  3 

1-02492 

1-02763 

-1  .AO,1AA 

1  02499 

25 

24  ' 

0 

25  "  3 

1-02470 

1-02739 

1*02505 

u 

50 

21  - 

9 

25  '  1 

T 02471 

1-02737 

1  02OOO 

u 

100 

14  * 

5 

24  '75 

l-02387 

1-02644 

1*02670 

200 

8  ' 

3 

24  *  9 

1-02483 

1*02742 

1*02S75 

41 

300 

5  • 

7 

24  *  9 

1-02327 

1  '025S5 

1-02754 

j, 

400 

4  * 

4 

24  "  9 

1-02386 

1*02645 

lt 

800 

3  • 

6 

25  '  0 

1*02311 

1*02572 

1*02763 

4t 

Bottom. 

2  • 

6 

25  '  2 

1*02341 

1-02610 

1  .AOQAQ 

1  OZotlo 

25 

12  29 

13  44 

1475 

Surface. 

26  • 

2 

26  "  1 

1*02422 

1-02722 

1  .AO/4  OA 

(< 

12  16 

13  44 

25 

26  •  4 

1  02413 

1-02720 

1  *024oo 

50 

21 "' 

9 

26  *15 

1*02431 

1*02731 

1  U20O4 

115 

25  "95 

1*02325 

1*02619 

200 

s"* 

'3 

25  •  9 

1*02320 

1-02614 

1*02746 

44 

300 

5  • 

8 

25  •  9 

1*02339 

1*02631 

1*02798 

U 

400 

4  • 

5 

26  •  0 

1-02279 

1*02574 

" 

800 

2  ■ 

8 

26  '05 

1*02282 

1  '025S0 

Bottom. 

3  • 

0 

26  *45 

1*02308 

1*02616 

1  .AQCAQ 

26 

l6'"6 

13  "44 

1445 

Surface. 

26  -65 

26  '65 

1*02418 

1 '02732 

1'02418 

25 

26  '55 

1-0240S 

1 '02720 

1  .AOyf  1  O 

<< 

50 

21  • 

9 

26  '  6 

1'02385 

1*02697 

1  *0252o 

it 

100 

12  • 

2 

26  *  3 

1  -02309 

1*02615 

1  .AO£YA 

1  02579 

44 

200 

8  • 

7 

26  •  4 

1-02319 

1*02629 

1*02755 

44 

300 

6  ' 

9 

26  '45 

1  -02309 

1  "O9fi90 

1*02774 

44 

400 

6  • 

0 

26  '  4 

1-02271 

1*02759 

44 

900 

3  • 

2 

26  "45 

1  02296 

1  "09607 

l*0f797 

44 

AJVJbWJLLL* 

2  ' 

6 

26  '  7 

1'02298 

1'02813 

27 

/Off  Ascension) 
1      Island.  f 

425 

Surface. 

27  • 

1 

26  •  S 

1*02379 

1*02700 

1-02370 

44 

it 

Bottom. 

4  * 

5 

25  "  7 

1  -02340 

1*02622 

l-02803 

April  3 

u 

QUI  late. 

27  ' 

7 

27  *  4 

1*02331 

1'02672 

1  -02316 

4 

5  45 

14  25 

2010 

ft 

28  ' 

3 

28  '05 

1-022S1 

1  -no  ra  a 

1 "02272 

25 

26  • 

9 

27  *  7 

1*02323 

1  •09A7A 

1  '02350 

4( 

50 

22  • 

1 

28  '05 

1-02329 

1  -nOAQzl 
X  v£0\J'± 

1-02502 

,4 

100 

11  • 

6 

27  '  6 

1-02266 

1*02616 

1*02698 

44 

200 

s  • 

3 

27  *  6 

1  -02245 

J.  uzoy* 

1*02727 

44 

300 

6  • 

6 

27  •  6 

1*02234 

1*02583 

1*02740 

44 

400 

5  • 

5 

27  •  7 

1*02234 

1*02588 

1*02758 

(t 

1525 

2  • 

4 

27  '  8 

1'02241 

1*02599 

1*02793 

4, 

Bottom. 

2  • 

1 

27  •  9 

1*02260 

1*02620 

1-02S14 

5 

i'  'io 

14*  34 

Surface. 

28  ' 

2 

2S  •  1 

1*02248 

1-02616 

1-02244 

Q 

2  42 

14  41 

2350 

28  • 

2 

28  '  2 

1  "02272 

1-02642 

1-02271 

25 

22 

2 

27  '  8 

1*02293 

1-02651 

1-02474 

50 

14  ' 

0 

27  •  9 

1-02271 

1*02633 

1*02665 

tt 

100 

12  • 

8 

27  •  8 

1-0227S 

1-02636 

1-02691 

200 

9  • 

5 

27  '  8 

1*02266 

1-02624 

1-02739 

300 

6  ' 

5 

27  •  7 

1*02237 

1 -025S9 

1-02746 

400 

5 

4 

27  \8 

1*02220 

1-02578 

1-02749 

SOO 

4 

0 

27  •  9 

1*02255 

1*02616 

1*02804 

1875 

2 

0 

27  '  8 

1*02255 

1-02614 

1-02S14 

Bottom. 

1 

0 

27  '  8 

1-022S2 

1-02641 

1-02848 

7 

6'  15 

14*  25 

2250 

Surface. 
25 

27 
25 

8 
2 

27  •  7 
27  ■  3 

1*02303 
1*02340 

1  02657 
1-02683 

1-02300 
1-02415 

it 

50 

18 

4 

27  '  3 

1*02366 

1-02706 

1-02632 

242 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


Date, 
1876. 

Latitude 
South. 

Longitude 
West. 

Depth  of  the 
Sea. 

Depth  (6)  at 
which  Water 
was  taken. 

Temperature 

C 

Temperature 

(f)  during 
Observation. 

a.  ^ 
w 

Specific  Grav- 
ity at  15°'56. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

Specific  Grav- 
at  t. 
Water  at 
4°  =  1. 

F'ms. 

Fathoms. 

Ap'l  7 

100 

14°  * 

1C. 

27° 

•  oc. 

1-02297 

1-02625 

1-02655 

300 

6  • 

5 

26 

•  9 

1*02257 

1-025S0 

1-02738 

" 

1500 

2  • 

8 

27 

•  0 

1*02283 

1-02612 

1-02805 

Bottom. 

1  • 

7 

26 

•85 

1*02281 

1-02603 

1-02804 

8 

1° 

30' N. 

14° 

6' 

Surface. 

28  • 

2 

27 

•75 

1-02271 

1*02627 

1-02256 

9 

3 

10 

14 

51 

" 

29  ' 

9 

29 

•65 

1-02183 

1-02602 

1-02179 

25 

25  • 

0 

27 

•  7 

1  '02266 

1-02620 

1-02358 

" 

50 

15  • 

1 

27 

•  7 

1-02293 

1-02647 

1-02655 

" 

100 

13  ■ 

3 

27 

•65 

1-02291 

1-02642 

1-02699 

" 

200 

9  • 

5 

27 

'  7 

1-02256 

1-02612 

1-02727 

300 

6  • 

5 

27 

•  6 

1-02272 

1-02622 

1-02780 

385 

5  • 

0 

27 

•65 

1  -02250 

1-02603 

1-02780 

800 

3  • 

8 

2S 

•15 

1-02219 

1-02587 

1-02777 

10 

5 

28 

14 " 

38 

Surface. 

28  • 

6 

28 

•45 

1-02256 

1-02636 

1-02253 

25 

17  ■ 

7 

27 

•  9 

1*02287 

1-02647 

1-02591 

50 

15  • 

0 

27 

•  9 

1-02281 

1-02641 

1-02652 

100 

13  • 

4 

27 

•  7 

1 -022S4 

1-02638 

1-02684 

200 

9  * 

0 

27 

•  7 

1-02266 

1-02620 

1-02743 

300 

27 

•  9 

1  -02244 

1-02603 

11 

T 

26 

is' 

13  . 

Surface. 

28  •' 

5 

28 

•  3 

1-02259 

1-02640 

1-02259 

7 

33 

15 

16  4 

25 

22  • 

0 

27 

•65 

1-02294 

1-02645 

1 -02474 

" 

50 

16  • 

9 

27 

•65 

1-02294 

1-02645 

1-02610 

100 

13  • 

8 

27 

•  7 

1-02283 

1-02637 

1-02683 

300 

7  • 

1 

27 

•55 

1*02253 

1-02601 

1-02750 

12 

9 

3 

16 

35 

Surface. 

27  • 

7 

27 

•  6 

1-02320 

1-02671 

1-0231S 

9 

9 

16 

41 

25 

17  • 

5 

26 

'  3 

1*02344 

1-02652 

1-02600 

50 

15  • 

3 

26 

•  4 

1  *02347 

1-02653 

1*02660 

100 

13  • 

4 

26 

•  2 

1*02330 

1-02633 

1-02678 

200 

8  • 

7 

26 

•  3 

T02316 

1-02624 

1*02751 

" 

300 

6  • 

8 

26 

•  3 

1*02292 

1-02598 

1*02753 

13 

io' 

'is 

17' 

48 

Surface. 

26  • 

0 

25 

•  9 

1*02381 

1-02672 

1*02378 

" 

10 

55 

17 

46 

25 

19 

0 

21 

•45 

1  *02493 

1-02654 

1*02564 

50 

15 

0 

21 

•55 

1-02472 

1-02633 

1*02643 

100 

12 

8 

21 

•  5 

1-02468 

1-02627 

1*02680 

200 

10  • 

5 

21 

•55 

1*02443 

1-02602 

1*02704 

" 

300 

8 

0 

21 

•55 

1*02450 

1-02610 

1-02747 

14 

11 

*23 

18* 

42 

Surface. 

23  ' 

7 

23 

•  5 

1*02469 

1-02687 

1*02462 

15 

12' 

21 

21 

26 

" 

22  • 

8 

22 

•  7 

1-02490 

1-026S2 

1*02484 

16 

13 

56 

23 

11 

23  ' 

0 

22 

•  7 

1-02468 

1-02660 

1*02457 

26 

16 

48 

25 

14 

" 

23  ■ 

0 

22 

•  S 

1-02504 

1-02702 

1-02501 

27 

17 

18 

26 

32 

(C 

22 

8 

22 

•  6 

1-02509 

1-02700 

1-02503 

2S 

17 

47 

28 

28 

(< 

22 

8 

22 

•  8 

1*02499 

1-02697 

1-02500 

29 

18 

20 

30 

10 

tt 

23 

7 

23 

•  5 

1*02533 

1-02753 

1-02530 

30 

20 

5 

30 

44 

23 

0 

23 

•  1 

1*02555 

1-02762 

1-02560 

May  1 

2 

21 

33 

31 

15 

22  ' 

6 

22 

•  7 

1-02578 

1-02771 

1-02580 

24 

0 

32 

3S 

21  • 

6 

21 

•  7 

1-02613 

1-02775 

1-02616 

3 

26 

21 

33 

37 

2965 

(1 

21  • 

4 

21 

•  4 

1-02619 

1-02774 

1-02618 

25 

20  • 

2 

21 

•  2 

1-02610 

1-02760 

1*02639 

50 

20  • 

0 

21 

•  4 

1-02587 

1-02742 

1*02628 

100 

17 

7 

21 

•  5 

1-02560 

1-02719 

1-02661 

200 

15  ' 

0 

21 

•  5 

1-02531 

1 '02690 

1-02702 

" 

300 

12  • 

2 

21 

'  4 

1-02542 

1-02699 

1-0266S 

400 

9 

5 

21 

•35 

1-02487 

1-02642 

1-02759 

2500 

2 

5 

21 

•  2 

1-02532 

1-02682 

1-02878 

Bottom. 

2 

3 

21 

•  5 

1-02556 

1-02714 

1-02908 

4 

28 

io 

34 

55 

Surface. 

21  ■ 

0 

21 

•  2 

1-02612 

1-02761 

1-02619 

5 

29 

50 

35 

55 

20 

7 

21 

•  3 

1-025S8 

1-02741 

1-02602 

30 

20 

36 

6 

21 

7 

21 

•  9 

1*02580 

1-02749 

1-025S7 

6 

32 

41 

36 

6 

1675 

21 

2 

21 

•  6 

1-02575 

1-02735 

1-02585 

25 

19 

1 

20 

•  0 

1*02593 

1-02708 

1-02615 

50 

18 

0 

20 

•  1 

1-025S0 

1-02700 

1-02635 

100 

17 

2 

20 

•  6 

1-02568 

1-02701 

1-02660 

200 

15 

5 

20 

•  1 

1-025S8 

1-02706 

1-02706 

300 

11 

9 

20 

•05 

1-02558 

1-02675 

1-02752 

400 

10 

•  2 

20 

•  1 

1-02543 

1-02603 

1-02765 

tt 

600 

7 

•  0 

20 

•  0 

1*02516 

1-02632 

1-02783 

1200 

3 

•  0 

20 

•  9 

1-02558 

1-02700 

1-02892 

Bottom. 

2 

•  7 

20 

•  2 

1*02544 

1-02665 

1-02859 

CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


243 


APPENDIX  E. 

List  of  the  Stations  in  the  Atlantic  at  which  Observations  were  taken 

in  the  Year  1876. 

Station  CCCXIIL,  January  20th,  1876.— Lat.  52°  20'  S.,  Long.  68° 
0'  W.    Depth,  55  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  8°'8  C.  Sand. 

Station  CCCXIV.,  January  21st,  1876.— Lat.  51°  36'  S.,  Long.  65° 
40'  W.    Depth,  70  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  7°'8  C.  Sand. 

Station  CCCXV.,  January  26th,  27th,  28th,  1876.— Lat.  51°  40'  S., 
Long.  57°  50'  W.    Depth,  5  to  12  fathoms.    Sand  and  gravel. 

Station  CCCXVL,  February  3d,  1876.— Lat.  51°  32'  S.,  Long.  58° 
6'  W.    Depth,  4  to  5  fathoms.  Mud. 

Station  CCCXVIL,  February  8th,  1876.— Lat.  48°  37'  S.,  Long.  55° 
17'  W.  Depth,  1035  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'7  C.  Hard 
ground. 

Station  CCCXVIIL,  February  11th,  1876.  — Lat.  42°  32'  S.,  Long. 
56°  27'  W.  Depth,  2040  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  0°'3  C. 
Gray  mud. 

Station  CCCIX.,  February  12th,  1876.— Lat.  41°  54'  S.,  Long.  54° 
48'  W.  Depth,  2425  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  0o*4  C.  Gray 
mud. 

Station  CCCXX.,  February  14th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  17'  S.,  Long.  53° 
52'  W.  Depth,  600  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°'7  C.  Hard 
ground. 

Station  CCCXXL,  February  25th,  1876.— Lat.  35°  2'  S.,  Long.  55° 
15'  W.    Depth,  13  fathoms.  Mud. 

Station  CCCXXIL,  February  26th,  1876.— Lat.  35°  20'  S.,  Long.  53° 
42'  W.    Depth,  21  fathoms.  Shells. 

Station  CCCXXIIL,  February  28th,  1876.  — Lat.  35°.  39' S.,  Long. 
50°  47'  W.  Depth,  1900  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  0°*0  C. 
Gray  mud. 

Station  CCCXXIV.,  February  29th,  1876.— Lat.  36°  9'  S.,  Long.  48° 
22'  W.  Depth,  2800  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  —  0°*4  C.  Gray 
mud. 


244 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  IV. 


Station  CCCXXV.,  March  2d,  1876.— Lat.  36°  44'  S.,  Long.  46°  16' 
W.    Depth,  2650  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  — 0°*4  C.    Gray  mud. 

Station  CCCXXVL,  March  3d,  1876.— Lat.  37°  3'  S.,  Long.  44°  17' 
W.    Depth,  2775  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  —  0°'4  C.    Gray  mud. 

Station  CCCXXVIL,  March  4th,  1876.— Lat.  36°  48'  S.,  Long.  42° 
45'  W.  Depth,  2900  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  — 0°*3  C.  Gray 
mud. 

Station  CCCXXVIIL,  March  6th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  38'  S.,  Long.  39° 
36'  W.  Depth,  2900  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  —  0°'3  C.  Gray 
mud. 

Station  CCCXXIX.,  March  7th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  31'  S.,  Long.  36° 
7'  W.  Depth,  2675  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  —  0°'6  C.  Gray 
mud. 

Station  CCCXXX.,  March  8th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  45'  S.,  Long.  33°  0' 
W.    Depth,  2440  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  —  0o,3  C.    Gray  mud. 

Station  CCCXXXL,  March  9th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  47'  S.,  Long.  30° 
20'  W.  Depth,  1715  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°*3  C.  Globi- 
gerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXIL,  March  10th,  1876.— Lat.  37°  29'  S.,  Long.  27° 
31'  W.  Depth,  2200  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  0°*4  C.  Globi- 
gerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXIIL,  March  13th,  1876.— Lat.  35°  36'  S.,  Long.  21° 
12'  W.  Depth,  2025  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1° '2  C.  Globi- 
gerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXIV.,  March  14th,  1876.— Lat.  35°  45'  S.,  Long.  18° 
31'  W.  Depth,  1915  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'5  C.  Globi- 
gerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXV.,  March  16th,  1876.— Lat.  32°  24'  S.,  Long.  13° 
5'  W.  Depth,  1425  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2° '3  C.  Globige- 
rina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXVL,  March  18th,  1876.— Lat.  27°  54'  S.,  Long.  13° 
13' W.  Depth,  1890  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1° '9  C.  Globi- 
gerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXVIL,  March  19th,  1876.— Lat.  24°  38'  S.,  Long. 
13°  36'  W.  Depth,  1240  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°"5  C. 
Globigerina  ooze. 

Station  CCCXXXVIIL,  March  21st,  1876.  — Lat,  21°  15'  S.,  Long. 
14°  2'  W.  Depth,  1990  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'8  C.  Glo- 
bigerina ooze. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  VOYAGE  ROME. 


245 


Station  CCCXXXIX.,  March  23d,  1876.— Lat.  17°  26'  S.,  Long.  13° 
52'  W.  Depth,  1415  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°*5  C.  Globi- 
gerina ooze. 

Station  CCCXL.,  March  24th,  1876.— Lat.  14°  33'  S.,  Long.  13°  42' 
W.   Depth,  1500  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  2 °*6  C.    Hard  ground. 

Station  CCCXLL,  March  25th,  1876.— Lat.  12°  16'  S.,  Long.  13°  44' 
W.   Depth,  1475  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  3o,0  C.   Hard  ground. 

Station  CCCXLIL,  March  26th,  1876.— Lat.  9°  43'  S.,  Long.  13°  51' 
W.  Depth,  1445  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2° '6  C.  Globigerina 
ooze. 

Station  CCCXLIIL,  March  27th,  1876.— Lat.  8°  3'  S.,  Long.  14°  27' 
W.    Depth,  425  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  4°"5  C.  Coral. 

Station  CCCXLIY.,  April  3d,  1876.— Off  Ascension  Island.  Depth, 
420  fathoms.    Hard  ground. 

Station  CCCXLV.,  April  4th,  1876.— Lat.  5°  45'  S.,  Long.  14°  25' 
W.  Depth,  2010  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°  *1  C.  Globigerina 
ooze. 

Station  CCCXL VI.,  April  6th,  1876.— Lat.  2°  42'  S.,  Long.  14°  41' 
W.  Depth,  2350  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  0° '4  C.  Globigerina 
ooze. 

Station  CCCXL VII.,  April  7th,  1876.— Lat,  0°  15'  S.,  Long.  14°  25' 
W.  Depth,  2250  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°*7  C.  Globigerina 
ooze. 

Station  CCCXLVIIL,  April  9th,  1876.— Lat.  3°  10'  N.,  Long.  14° 
51'  W.    Depth  (see  Station  CIL). 

Station  CCCXLIX.,  April  10th,  1876.  — Lat.  5°  28'  N.,  Long.  14° 
38'  W. 

Station  CCCL.,  April  11th,  1876.— Lat.  7°  33'  N.,  Long.  15°  16'  W. 
Station  CCCLL,  April  12th,  1876.— Lat.  9°  9'  N.,  Long.  16°  41'  W. 
Station  CCCLIL,  April  13th,  1876.  — Lat.  10°  55'  K,  Long.  17° 
46'  W. 

Station  CCCLIIL,  May  3d,  1876.— Lat.  26°  21'  N.,  Long.  33°  37' 
W.    Depth,  2965  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  2°*3  C.    Red  clay. 

Station  CCCLIV.,  May  6th,  1876.— Lat.  32°  41'  N.,  Long.  36°  6' 
W.  Depth,  1675  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2° *7  C.  Globigerina 
ooze. 


246 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  v. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 

The  Contour  of  the  Bed  of  the  Atlantic. — The  Atlantic  Ocean  divided  by  a  Series 
of  Ridges  into  Three  Basins. — The  Nature  of  the  Bottom. — Pelagic  Foraminif- 
era. — Hastigerina  Murrayi. — Volcanic  Debris. — Products  of  the  Decomposition 
of  Pumice.  —  The  Distribution  of  Ocean  Temperature. — Laws  regulating  the 
Movements  of  the  Upper  Layers  of  the  Atlantic.  —  Corrections  of  Six's  Ther- 
mometers.—  Laws  regulating  the  Movement  of  Water  in  the  Depths  of  the 
Atlantic. — The  Doctrine  of  "Continuous  Barriers."  —  The  Distribution  and 
Nature  of  the  Deep  -  sea  Fauna.  —  The  Universal  Distribution  of  Living  Be- 
ings.— Causes  modifying  and  restricting  the  Distribution  of  the  Higher  Forms. 
— Relations  of  the  Modern  to  the  Ancient  Faunae. — The  Challengerida.  —  The 
Density  of  Sea -water.  —  The  Amount  and  Distribution  of  Carbonic  Acid.  —  Of 
Oxygen. 

Appendix  A. — The  General  Result  of  the  Chemical  and  Microscopical  Examination 
of  a  Series  of  Twenty  Samples  of  the  Bottom  from  the  Observing  Stations  on 
the  Section  between  Teneriffe  and  Sombrero. 

Appendix  B. — Table  showing  the  Amount  of  Carbonic  Acid  contained  in  Sea-water 
at  Various  Stations  in  the  Atlantic. 

Appendix  C. — Table  showing  the  Relative  Frequency  of  the  Occurrence  of  the  Prin- 
cipal Groups  of  Marine  Animals  at  Fifty -two  Stations  at  which  Dredging  or 
Trawling  was  carried  to  Depths  greater  than  2000  Fathoms. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  at  this  stage  of  the  work,  while 
the  great  bulk  of  the  observations  are  still  unreduced,  while 
the  chemical  analyses  are  only  commenced,  and  there  has  not 
been  time  even  to  unpack  the  natural  -  history  specimens,  to 
give  any  thing  like  a  detailed  account  of  the  additional  data, 
which  have  been  acquired  by  the  Challenger  expedition,  or  of 
their  bearings  upon  the  various  problems  of  physical  geogra- 
phy. Still,  from  the  presence  of  a  competent  scientific  staff 
on  board,  a  good  deal  was  done  during  the  voyage ;  and  certain 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


247 


general  results  were  arrived  at  which  are  of  great  interest  even 
in  their  present  crude  form. 

I  propose  in  this  chapter  to  summarize  these  results,  giving 
briefly  a  general  outline  of  the  conditions  as  to  the  contour 
of  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  the  nature  of  the  deposits  which 
are  being  laid  down  on  the  bottom,  the  general  distribution 
of  temperature,  the  direction  and  force  of  surface  and  subma- 
rine movements  of  the  water,  and  the  nature  and  distribution 
of  the  deep-sea  fauna,  according  to  my  present  impressions; 
premising  that  these  may  be  modified  to  a  certain  extent  by 
further  study  of  the  materials  in  our  hands.  I  will,  however, 
confine  myself  at  present,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  facts  which 
appear  to  be  ascertained  with  some  approach  to  certainty. 

The  Contour  of  the  Bed  of  the  Atlantic. — During  the  first 
few  days  of  our  cruise  we  verified  many  previous  observations 
to  the  effect  that,  after  passing  a  comparatively  narrow,  shal- 
low belt,  the  water  deepens  rather  suddenly  along  the  coasts 
of  Europe  and  North  Africa,  to  between  2000  and  2500  fath- 
oms, a  peculiar  ridge,  first  observed  by  the  Swedish  corvette 
Josephine,  and  lately  by  the  United  States  sloop  Gettysburg, 
running  down  in  a  south-westerly  direction  from  about  Cape 
Roca,  including  the  Josephine  Bank  and  Madeira,  and  giving 
its  western  boundary  to  a  tongue  of  deep  water  which  passes 
in  a  north-easterly  direction  between  Madeira  and  the  main- 
land toward  Cape  St.  Vincent.    (See  Frontispiece.) 

From  Teneriffe  westward,  except  at  one  spot  about  160  miles 
south-west  of  the  Island  of  Ferro,  where  we  sounded  in  1525 
fathoms  on  the  top  of  a  ridge,  the  water  gradually  deepened 
to  the  westward  to  the  depth  of  3150  fathoms  at  the  bottom 
of  a  wide  valley,  which  extends  more  than  half-way  across  the 
Atlantic.  About  long.  43°  W.  the  floor  began  to  rise,  and  at 
long.  44°  39'  W.  we  sounded  in  1900  fathoms  on  the  top  of  a 
gentle  elevation.  Farther  to  the  westward  the  depth  again 
increased,  and  in  long.  61°  28'  N".  we  sounded  in  3050  fathoms 


248 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  western  trough  ;  the  water  then  shoaled 
rapidly  up  to  the  West  Indian  Islands. 

On  our  next  section  from  St.  Thomas  to  Bermudas  we 
sounded  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  Virgin  Islands  in  3875 
fathoms,  the  greatest  depth  known  in  the  Atlantic,  and  our 
whole  course  lay  through  a  depression  upward  of  2500  fathoms 
deep,  showing  that  the  western  trough  extended  considerably 
to  the  northward.  This  western  valley  was  again  traversed  be- 
tween Bermudas  and  the  Acores,  the  water  shallowing  at  a  dis- 
tance from  those  islands,  thus  showing  that  they  formed  the 
culminating  points  of  a  plateau  of  considerable  extent.  Be- 
tween the  Acores  and  Madeira  we  recrossed  the  eastern  valley, 
and  our  course  from  Madeira  to  the  Cape  Yerde  Islands,  and 
southward  to  a  station  in  lat.  5°  48'  K,  long.  14°  20'  W,,  lay 
within  it,  near  its  eastern  border.  We  then  crossed  the  valley, 
and  in  lat.  1°  22'  1ST.,  long.  26°  36'  W.,  we  sounded  in  1500  fath- 
oms near  the  centre  of  the  middle  ridge,  and,  altering  our  course 
to  the  south-westward,  we  crossed  obliquely  a  western  depres- 
sion, with  a  maximum  depth  of  about  2500  fathoms,  between 
St.  Paul's  Rocks  and  Cape  St.  Roque.  From  Bahia  we  crossed 
a  western  depression  with  a  maximum  depth  of  3000  fathoms, 
and  came  upon  1900  fathoms  on  the  central  rise,  a  few  degrees 
to  the  westward  of  Tristan  d'Acunha.  An  eastern  depression 
with  an  average  depth  of  2500  fathoms  extended  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  distance  between  Tristan  d'Acunha  and  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. 

On  our  return  voyage,  in  1876,  we  crossed  the  western  basin 
of  the  South  Atlantic  about  the  parallel  of  33°  S.  We  then 
ran  northward  on  the  top  of  the  rise  in  the  meridian  of  Tristan 
d'Acunha  and  Ascension  as  far  as  the  equator,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  remainder  of  our  course  lay  nearly  in  the  axis  of 
the  eastern  depression. 

Combining  our  own  observations  with  reliable  data  which 
have  been  previously  or  subsequently  acquired,  we  find  that 


Plate  XL.      Meteorological  Obser 


Barometer 


Dry  .Bulb  Thermometer 


Wet 


£  17te>  arrows  i*zdzjxzte/  t?v&  clzree&LOTv  of  tA&  wi*u]y}  a^vdy  th*y  ai 


tions  for  the  month  of  March,  1876. 


ulb  Thermometer  Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 

17      18       19      20      21       22  .   23      24-      25      26      27      ,28      23      30      31  j^C 


-5 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


249 


the  mean  depth  of  the  Atlantic  is  a  little  over  2000  fathoms. 
An  elevated  ridge  rising  to  an  average  height  of  about  1900 
fathoms  below  the  surface  traverses  the  basins  of  the  North 
and  South  Atlantic  in  a  meridional  direction  from  Cape  Fare- 
well, probably  as  far  south  at  least  as  Gough  Island,  following 
roughly  the  outlines  of  the  coasts  of  the  Old  and  the  New 
"Worlds. 

A  branch  of  this  elevation  strikes  off  to  the  south-westward 
about  the  parallel  of  10°  N.,  and  connects  it  with  the  coast  of 
South  America  at  Cape  Orange ;  and  another  branch  crosses  the 
eastern  trough,  joining  the  continent  of  Africa  probably  about 
the  parallel  of  25°  S.  The  Atlantic  Ocean  is  thus  divided  by 
the  axial  ridge  and  its  branches  into  three  basins :  an  eastern, 
which  extends  from  the  West  of  Ireland  nearly  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  with  an  average  depth  along  the  middle  line  of 
2500  fathoms ;  a  north-western  basin,  occupying  the  great  east- 
ern bight  of  the  American  continent,  with  an  average  depth  of 
3000  fathoms  ;  and  a  gulf  running  up  the  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica as  far  as  Cape  Orange,  and  open  to  the  southward,  with  a 
mean  depth  of  3000  fathoms. 

The  Nature  of  the  Bottom. — Except  in  the  neighborhood  of 
coasts,  where  the  deposit  at  the  bottom  consists  chiefly  of  the 
debris  washed  down  by  rivers,  or  produced  by  the  disintegra- 
tion of  the  rocks  of  the  coast-line,  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic,  at 
depths  between  400  and  2000  fathoms,  is  covered  with  the 
now  well-known  calcareous  deposit,  the  globigerina  ooze,  con- 
sisting, as  has  been  already  described  (vol.  i.,  p.  198),  to  a  great 
extent  of  the  shells,  more  or  less  broken  and  decomposed,  of 
pelagic  foraminifera.  In  the  Atlantic  the  species  producing 
the  ooze  are  chiefly  referable  to  the  genera  Globigerina,  Or- 
bulina,  Pulvinulina,  Pullenia,  and  Sphmroidina,  the  two  latter 
in  smaller  proportions. 

One  very  beautiful  form  occurs  at  the  bottom,  sparingly  on 
account  of  the  extreme  tenuity  of  its  shell.    Hastigerina  Mur- 

II.— 17 


250 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  v. 


rayi  is  very  widely  distributed  on  the  surface  of  warm  seas, 
more  abundant,  however,  and  of  larger  size  in  the  Pacific  than 
in  the  Atlantic.    The  shell  (Fig.  51)  consists  of  a  series  of  eight 


Fig.  51.  —  Ilaxtigerina  Murrayi,  Wyyiue  Thomson.    From  the  surface.    Fifty  times  the 

natural  size. 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


251 


or  nine  rapidly  enlarging  inflated  chambers  coiled  symmetrical- 
ly on  a  plane ;  the  shell-wall  is  extremely  thin,  perfectly  hya- 
line, and  rather  closely  perforated  with  large  and  obvious  pores. 
It  is  beset  with  a  comparatively  small  number  of  very  large 
and  long  spines.  The  proximal  portion  of  each  spine  is  formed 
of  three  laminae,  delicately  serrated  along  their  outer  edges,  and 
their  inner  edges  united  together.  The  spines,  when  they  come 
near  the  point  of  junction  with  the  shell,  are  contracted  to  a  nar- 
row cylindrical  neck,  which  is  attached  to  the  shell  by  a  slightly 
expanded  conical  base.  The  distal  portion  of  the  spine  loses 
its  three  diverging  laminae,  and  becomes  flexible  and  thread- 
like. The  sarcode  is  of  a  rich  orange  color  from  included  high- 
ly colored  oil-globules. 

On  one  occasion  in  the  Pacific,  when  Mr.  Murray  was  out  in 
a  boat  in  a  dead  calm  collecting  surface  creatures,  he  took  gen- 
tly up  in  a  spoon  a  little  globular  gelatinous  mass  with  a  red 
centre,  and  transferred  it  to  a  tube.  This  globule  gave  us  our 
first  and  last  chance  of  seeing  what  a  pelagic  foraminifer  really 
is  when  in  its  full  beauty.  When  placed  under  the  microscope, 
it  proved  to  be  a  Ilastigerina  in  a  condition  wholly  different 
from  any  thing  which  we  had  yet  seen.  The  spines,  which  were 
mostly  unbroken,  owing  to  its  mode  of  capture,  were  enormous- 
ly long,  about  fifteen  times  the  diameter  of  the  shell  in  length ; 
the  sarcode,  loaded  with  its  yellow  oil-cells,  was  almost  all  out- 
side the  shell,  and  beyond  the  fringe  of  yellow  sarcode  the  space 
between  the  spines  to  a  distance  of  about  twice  the  diameter  of 
the  shell  all  round  was  completely  filled  up  with  delicate  bul- 
lae, like  those  which  we  see  in  some  of  the  Radiolarians,  as  if 
the  most  perfectly  transparent  portion  of  the  sarcode  had  been 
blown  out  into  a  delicate  froth  of  bubbles  of  uniform  size. 
Along  the  spines  fine  double  threads  of  transparent  sarcode, 
loaded  with  minute  granules,  coursed  up  one  side  and  down  the 
other;  while  between  the  spines  independent  thread-like  pseu- 
dopodia  ran  out,  some  of  them  perfectly  free,  and  others  anasto- 


252 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


mosing  with  one  another,  or  joining  the  sarcodic  sheaths  of  the 
spines,  but  all  showing  the  characteristic  flowing  movement  of 
living  protoplasm.    The  wood-cut  (Fig.  52),  excellent  though  it 


Fig.  52. — Hastigerina  Murrayi,  Wyvilt.e  Thomson.    From  the  surface.    Ten  times  the 

natural  size. 


is,  gives  only  a  most  imperfect  idea  of  the  complexity  and  the 
heauty  of  the  organism  with  all  its  swimming  or  floating  ma- 
chinery in  this  expanded  condition.    We  have  seen  nothing 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


253 


exactly  like  it  in  any  other  species.  We  have  frequently  seen 
Globigerina  with  spines,  and  the  sarcode  extended  along  them, 
and  displaying  its  characteristic  movements;  and  on  one  or 
two  occasions  we  saw  Pulmnulinoe  with  a  half-contracted  float, 
resembling  partially  expanded  bullse ;  but  in  all  these  cases 
the  animals  had  been  taken  in  the  tow -net,  and  were  greatly 
injured. 

Everywhere  in  the  globigerina  ooze,  Mr.  Murray  has  de- 
tected, in  addition  to  the  foraminifera  which  make  up  the 
great  part  of  its  bulk,  fragments  of  pumice,  minute  particles 
of  feldspar,  particles  and  crystals  of  other  minerals  due  to  the 
disintegration  of  volcanic  rocks,  such  as  sanidine,  augite,  horn- 
blende, quartz,  leucite,  and  magnetite,  and  rounded  concretions 
of  a  mixture  of  the  peroxides  of  manganese  and  iron. 

I  have  already  (vol.  i.,  p.  212  et  seq.)  discussed  very  fully  the 
way  in  which,  at  depths  over  2000  fathoms,  the  carbonate  of 
lime  of  the  globigerina  ooze  is  gradually  removed,  the  ooze 
becoming  darker  in  color  and  effervescing  less  freely  with 
acids,  until  at  length  it  gives  place  to  a  more  or  less  homoge- 
neous red  clay  ;  and  I  have  referred  to  the  relative  proportions 
in  which  these  two  great  formations  occur  in  the  Atlantic. 
Their  distribution  may  be  broadly  defined  thus :  the  globige- 
rina ooze  covers  the  ridges  and  the  elevated  plateaus,  and  oc- 
cupies a  belt  at  depths  down  to  2000  fathoms  round  the  shores 
outside  the  belt  of  shore  deposits ;  and  the  red  clay  covers  the 
floor  of  the  deep  depressions,  the  eastern,  the  north-western, 
and  the  south-western  basins.  An  intermediate  band  of  what 
we  have  called  gray  ooze  occurs  in  the  Atlantic  at  depths  aver- 
aging perhaps  from  2100  to  2300  fathoms. 

Over  the  red -clay  area,  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  mode  of  formation  of  the  red  clay,  the  pieces  of  pumice 
and  the  recognizable  mineral  fragments  were  found  in  greater 
abundance ;  for  there  deposition  takes  place  much  more  slowly, 
and  foreign  bodies  are  less  readily  overwhelmed  and  masked ; 


254 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


so  abundant  are  such  fragments  in  some  places  that  the  fine 
amorphous  matter,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  ultimate  and 
universal  basis  of  the  deposit,  appears  to  be  present  only  in 
small  proportion. 

Mr.  Murray  has  studied  very  carefully  the  distribution  of  vol- 
canic debris  over  the  floor  of  the  ocean.  He  finds  that  recog- 
nizable pieces  of  pumice,  varying  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  that 
of  a  foot-ball,  have  been  dredged  at  eighty  stations,  distributed 
all  along  our  route ;  and  he  finds  them  in  greater  abundance 
in  the  neighborhood  of  volcanic  centres,  such  as  the  Acores 
and  the  Philippines,  than  elsewhere.  In  deposits  far  from 
land  they  were  most  numerous  in  the  pure  deep-sea  clays ;  mi- 
nute particles  of  feldspar,  having  the  appearance  of  disinte- 
grated pumice,  were  detected  in  all  such  ocean  deposits.  Many 
of  the  large  pieces  were  much  decomposed,  while  some  were 
only  slightly  altered;  some  were  coated  with  manganese  and 
iron,  and  many  appeared  as  a  mere  nucleus,  round  which  the 
manganese  and  iron  had  aggregated.  They  varied  greatly  in 
structure,  being  highly  vesicular,  or  fibrous  and  compact,  and 
in  color  from  white  through  gray  or  green  to  black.  There 
seemed  to  be  every  gradation  from  the  feldspathic  to  the  ex- 
treme pyroxenic  varieties. 

Mr.  Murray  believes  that  all  the  pieces  of  pumice  which  we 
find  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  have  been  formed  by  subaerial 
volcanic  action.  Some  of  them  may  have  fallen  upon  the  sea ; 
but  the  great  majority  seem  to  have  fallen  on  land,  and  been 
subsequently  washed  and  floated  out  to  sea  by  rains  and  rivers. 
After  floating  about  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  they  have 
become  water-logged  and  have  sunk  to  the  bottom.  Both  in 
the  North  Atlantic  and  in  the  Pacific  small  pieces  of  pumice 
were  several  times  taken  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean  by  means 
of  the  tow-net.  Over  the  surface  of  some  of  these,  serpulae  and 
algse  were  growing,  and  crystals  of  sanidine  projected,  or  were 
imbedded  in  the  feldspar.   During  our  visit  to  Ascension,  there 


chap,  v.]  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS.  255 

was  a  very  heavy  fall  of  rain,  such  as  had  not  been  experienced 
by  the  inhabitants  for  many  years.  For  several  days  after, 
many  pieces  of  scoriae,  cinders,  and  the  like  were  noticed  float- 
ing about  on  the  surface  of  the  sea  near  the  island.  Such  frag- 
ments may  be  transported  to  great  distances  by  currents. 

On  the  shores  of  Bermudas,  where  the  rock  is  composed  of 
blown  calcareous  sand,  we  picked  up  fragments  of  traveled  vol- 
canic rocks.  The  same  observation  was  made  by  General  Nel- 
son at  the  Bahamas.  Mr.  Darwin  observed  pieces  of  pumice  on 
the  shore  of  Patagonia,  and  Professor  L.  Agassiz  and  his  com- 
panions noticed  them  on  the  reefs  of  Brazil.  During  a  recent 
eruption  in  Iceland,  the  ferry  of  a  river  is  said  to  have  been 
blocked  for  several  days  by  the  large  quantity  of  pumice  float- 
ing down  the  river  and  out  to  sea. 

Near  volcanic  centres,  and  sometimes  at  great  distances  from 
land,  we  find  much  volcanic  matter  in  a  very  fine  state  of  di- 
vision at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  This  consists  mainly  of  mi- 
nute particles  of  feldspar,  hornblende,  augite,  olivine,  magnet- 
ite, and  other  volcanic  minerals.  These  particles  may  probably 
have  been  in  many  cases  carried  to  the  areas  where  they  are 
found  by  winds  in  the  form  known  as  volcanic  dust  or  ashes. 
Mr.  Murray  examined  a  packet,  sent  to  me  by  Sir  Pawson  Paw- 
son,  of  volcanic  ashes  which  fell  at  Barbadoes  in  1812,  after 
an  eruption  on  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent,  a  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  distant ;  and  he  found  them  to  be  made  up  of  particles 
similar  to  those  to  which  I  have  referred. 

The  clay  which  covers,  broadly  speaking,  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  at  depths  greater  than  2000  fathoms,  Mr.  Murray  considers 
to  be  produced,  as  we  know  most  other  clays  to  be,  by  the  de- 
composition of  feldspathic  minerals ;  and  I  now  believe  that 
he  is  in  the  main  right.  I  can  not,  however,  doubt  that  were 
pumice  and  other  volcanic  products  entirely  absent,  there  would 
still  be  an  impalpable  rain  over  the  ocean-floor  of  the  mineral 
matter  which  we  know  must  be  set  free,  and  must  enter  into 


256 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


more  stable  combinations,  through  the  decomposition  of  the 
multitudes  of  organized  beings  which  swarm  in  the  successive 
layers  of  the  sea;  and  I  am  still  inclined  to  refer  to  this  source 
a  great  part  of  the  molecular  matter  which  always  forms  a  con- 
siderable part  of  a  red-clay  microscopic  preparation. 

There  is  great  difficulty  in  pointing  out  rocks  belonging  to 
any  of  the  past  geological  periods  which  correspond  entirely, 
whether  in  chemical  composition  or  in  structure,  with  the  beds 
now  in  process  of  formation  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  There 
seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  rocks  of  the  Mesozoic 
and  Cenozoic  series,  at  all  events,  were  formed  in  comparative- 
ly .shallow  water,  and  after  the  prominent  features  at  present 
existing  had  been  stamped  upon  the  contour  of  the  earth's 
crust ;  and,  consequently,  that  none  of  these  have  the  essential 
characters  of  deep-sea  deposits.  I  imagine,  however,  that  the 
limestone  which  would  be  the  result  of  the  elevation  and  slight 
metamorphosis  of  a  mass  of  globigerina  ooze  would  resemble 
very  closely  a  bed  of  gray  chalk  ;  and  that  an  enormous  accu- 
mulation of  red  clay  might  in  time,  under  similar  circumstances, 
come  to  be  very  like  one  of  the  Paleozoic  schists,  such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  the  Cambrian  schist  with  Oldhamia  and  worm-tracks 
at  Bray  Head.  It  is  a  very  difficult  question,  however,  and  one 
on  which  I  shall  offer  no  opinion  until  we  have  very  much  more 
complete  data  from  comparative  microscopical  examination  and 
chemical  analysis. 

The  Distribution  of  Ocean  Temperature.  —  Throughout  the 
whole  of  the  Atlantic  the  water  is  warmest  at  the  surface. 
From  the  surface  it  cools  rapidly  for  the  first  hundred  fathoms 
or  so ;  it  then  cools  more  slowly  down  to  five  or  six  hundred 
fathoms,  and  then  extremely  slowly,  either  to  the  bottom  or  to 
a  certain  point,  from  which  it  maintains  a  uniform  or  nearly 
uniform  temperature  to  the  bottom. 

A  glance  at  a  series  of  temperature  sections  such  as  those  rep- 
resented in  Plates  V.,  IX.,  XVI.,  XX.,  XXIL,  and  XXVIII., 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


257 


gives  the  impression  that  a  generally  uniform  temperature  is 
maintained  by  a  belt  of  water  at  a  depth  of  from  seven  to  eight 
hundred  fathoms,  and  that  this  belt  separates  two  bodies  of  wa- 
ter wThich  are  under  essentially  different  conditions.  Above, 
the  vertical  distribution  of  temperature  differs  greatly  in  dif- 
ferent localities;  while  below  the  uniform  belt  there  is  a  slow 
and  gradual  cooling,  which  also  differs  both  in  rate  and  in 
amount  in  different  localities,  but  in  another  way.  These  va- 
riations in  temperature,  whether  in  the  superficial  layers  or  in 
the  deeper,  are  undoubtedly  in  all  cases  connected  with  currents 
or  movements  of  the  water,  and  may  be  regarded  as  evidences 
of  portions,  modified  by  various  causes,  of  a  general  system  of 
circulation  of  the  water  of  the  ocean. 

The  movements  of  surface-water  may  usually  be  determined 
with  considerable  precision  by  a  comparison  at  the  end  of  a 
given  time  of  the  apparent  course  of  a  ship  and  her  position  by 
dead  reckoning  with  her  actual  position  by  observation.  The 
rate  and  direction  of  a  surface-current  may  also  be  ascertained 
by  getting  in  some  way  a  fixed  point — by  anchoring  a  boat,  for 
instance — and  observing  and  timing  the  course  of  a  body  float- 
ing past  it.  Neither  of  these  methods  can  be  satisfactorily  ap- 
plied to  deep-sea  currents ;  indeed,  it  seems  probable  that  the 
movements  of  masses  of  underlying  water  are  so  slow,  that,  even 
if  we  had  some  feasible  method  of  observation,  the  indications 
of  movement  within  a  limited  period  would  be  too  slight  to  be 
measured  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 

We  can  not,  therefore,  measure  these  currents  directly,  but 
we  have  in  the  thermometer  an  indirect  means  of  ascertaining 
their  existence,  their  volume,  and,  approximately,  their  direc- 
tion. Water  is  a  very  bad  conductor  of  heat,  and  consequently 
a  body  of  water  at  a  given  temperature,  passing  into  a  region 
where  the  temperature  conditions  are  different,  retains  for  a  long 
time,  without  much  change,  the  temperature  of  the  place  where 
its  temperature  was  acquired.    To  take  an  example :  the  bot- 


258 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


torn  temperature  near  Fernando  Noronha,  almost  under  the 
equator,  is  0o,2  C,  close  upon  the  freezing-point ;  it  is  obvious 
that  this  temperature  was  not  acquired  at  the  equator,  where  the 
mean  annual  temperature  of  the  surface-layer  of  the  wTater  is  21° 
C,  and  we  may  take  the  mean  normal  temperature  of  the  crust 
of  the  earth  as  not  lower,  at  all  events,  than  8°  C.  The  water 
must,  therefore,  have  come  from  a  place  where  the  conditions 
were  such  as  to  impart  to  it  a  freezing  temperature;  and  not 
only  must  it  have  come  from  such  a  place,  but  it  must  be  con- 
tinually renewed,  however  slowly,  for  otherwise  its  temperature 
would  gradually  rise  by  conduction  and  mixture.  Across  the 
whole  of  the  North  Atlantic  the  bottom  temperature  is  consid- 
erably higher,  so  that  the  cold  water  can  not  be  coming  from 
that  direction ;  on  the  other  hand,  we  can  trace  a  band  of  water 
at  a  like  temperature,  at  nearly  the  same  depth,  continuously  to 
the  Antarctic  Sea,  where  the  conditions  are  normally  such  as 
to  impart  to  it  its  low  temperature.  There  seems,  therefore,  to 
be  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  cold  water  is  welling  up  into  the 
Atlantic  from  the  Southern  Sea ;  we  shall,  however,  discuss  this 
more  fully  hereafter. 

The  investigation,  by  this  indirect  method,  of  the  movements 
of  the  water  of  the  ocean,  was  one  of  the  points  to  which  our 
attention  was  very  specially  directed ;  and  it  was  prosecuted 
throughout  the  voyage  with  great  care.  The  method  of  taking 
temperature  sections  was  first  systematically  employed,  so  far  as 
I  am  aware,  by  the  American  Coast  Survey  in  their  examination 
of  the  Gulf-stream,  and  some  modifications,  extending  its  use  to 
deep  water,  were  devised  during  the  cruises  of  the  Lightning 
and  Porcupine ;  and  the  instructions  to  the  Challenger  were 
chiefly  based  on  our  experience  in  the  preliminary  trips.  (See 
"  The  Depths  of  the  Sea,"  p.  284  et  seq.) 

The  observing  stations  were  fixed  as  nearly  as  possible  in  a 
straight  line,  if  possible  either  meridional  or  on  a  parallel  of  lat- 
itude ;  the  bottom  temperature  was  carefully  determined  by  the 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


259 


mean  of  two  observations ;  a  string  of  thermometers  was  then 
sent  down  in  detachments,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  too  great  a  loss 
in  case  of  an  accident,  at  intervals  of  100  fathoms,  to  within  100 
fathoms  of  the  bottom,  or  more  usually  to  a  depth  of  1500  fath- 
oms— considerably  beyond  the  uniform  layer. 

Such  observations  gave  us  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  temperature  along  a  section,  and  the  general  course  of 
groups  of  lines  joining  points  of  equal  temperature  along  the 
section  gave  very  delicate  indications  of  any  general  rise  or  fall. 
The  word  "  isotherm  "  having  been  hitherto  so  specially  appro- 
priated to  lines  passing  through  places  of  equal  temperature  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  I  have  found  it  convenient,  in  consid- 
ering these  questions  of  ocean  temperature,  to  use  the  terms 
"  isothermobath  "  and  "  isobathytherm  ;"  the  former  to  indicate 
a  line  drawn  through  points  of  equal  temperature  in  a  vertical 
section,  and  the  latter  a  line  drawn  through  points  of  equal 
depth  at  which  a  given  temperature  occurs.  Isothermobaths 
are  shown  in  schemes  of  a  vertical  section,  such  as  those  in 
Plates  Y.j  IX.,  XL,  etc. ;  isobathytherms  are,  of  course,  pro- 
jected on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  All  the  temperature  obser- 
vations have  been  made  with  the  modification  of  Six's  register- 
ing instrument  known  under  the  name  of  the  Miller-Casella 
thermometer ;  and  this  instrument,  although  a  great  advance 
upon  any  other  hitherto  constructed,  is  essentially  uncertain 
and  liable  to  error  from  various  causes  ;  thus  even  a  slight  jerk 
causes  the  index  to  move  slightly  either  up  or  down,  and  an 
observation  is  in  this  way  very  frequently  vitiated.  In  almost 
every  serial  temperature  sounding,  one  or  two  of  the  thermom- 
eters were  evidently  adrift  from  some  such  cause.  There  was 
an  excellent  proof  that  these  eccentricities  did  not  always  de- 
pend upon  differences  of  temperature.  Very  frequently,  es- 
pecially at  considerable  depths,  where  the  differences  were  very 
slight,  thermometers  sent  to  greater  depths  gave  indications 
higher  than  those  above  them.    There  may  be  no  absolute  rea- 


260 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


son  why  underlying  water  might  not  in  some  cases  have  a  tem- 
perature higher  than  that  of  the  layers  above  it ;  but  the  ther- 
mometer is  not  constructed  to  show  such  an  anomaly :  having 
once  registered  its  minimum,  it  has  no  power  of  amendment. 

I  have  no  hesitation,  therefore,  in  saying  that  any  single  in- 
dication with  a  thermometer  on  Six's  principle  is*  not  trust- 
worthy, and  that  a  fact  in  temperature  distribution  can  only 
be  established  by  a  series  of  corroborative  determinations. 

Although  the  gross  errors  to  which  an  unprotected  thermom- 
eter is  liable  from  pressure  may  be  said  to  be  got  rid  of  by  the 
addition  of  the  outer  shell,  a  certain  amount  of  error  in  the 
same  direction  still  remains,  probably  from  a  slight  compres- 
sion of  the  unprotected  parts  of  the  tube.  This  error,  which 
is  one  of  slight  excess,  although  for  practical  purposes  it  might 
perhaps  be  safely  regarded  as  the  same  for  all  thermometers,  is 
in  detail  special  to  each  instrument,  and  all  our  thermometers 
were  tested  by  Captain  Tizard,  and  their  individual  errors  tab- 
ulated for  every  100  fathoms. 

The  following  table,  which  is  given  as  an  example,  is  in  Fah- 
renheit degrees : 


Number  of 
Thermometer. 

Correction  for 
100  Fathoms. 

For  500 
Fathoms. 

For  1000 
Fathoms. 

For  1500 
Fathoms. 

For  2000 
Fathoms. 

For  2500 
Fathoms. 

For  3000 
Fathoms. 

0  1 

0 

0-2 

0-5 

0-7 

0-9 

1-1 

14 

0  2 

0 

0-2 

0-4 

0-6 

0-8 

1-0 

1-2 

0  3 

0 

0-2 

0-4 

0-6 

0-8 

1-0 

1-2 

0  4 

0 

0-4 

0-7 

0-8 

0-9 

11 

11 

0  5 

0 

0-8 

0-6 

0-8 

0-9 

11 

1-2 

0  6 

0 

0-3 

0-6 

0-8 

0-9 

11 

1-2 

0  7 

0 

0-2 

0-4 

0-6 

0-7 

0-9 

11 

0  8 

0 

0-2 

04 

0-6 

0-8 

10 

1-2 

These  particular  thermometers  were  part  of  a  batch  sent  out 
to  us  late  in  the  cruise,  specially  strengthened,  and  certainly 
of  a  better  construction  than  those  which  we  had  had  before. 
By  testing  a  large  series  of  the  earlier  instruments  in  a  Bra- 
mah's  press,  Captain  Davis  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that, 
when  subjected  to  a  pressure  corresponding  to  a  depth  of  2000 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


261 


fathoms,  they  gave,  broadly,  a  uniform  error  of  1°*4  F.  in  ex- 
cess, and  that  this  correction  might  be  applied  proportionally  to 
the  depth  at  which  the  observation  is  taken,  i.  <?.,  0o,7  F.  for  ev- 
ery 100  fathoms.  This  may  probably  hold  as  a  rough  rule  for 
ordinary  instruments,  where  absolute  accuracy  is  not  required. 

On  reconsidering  this  matter  since  our  return  home,  a  doubt 
has  arisen  whether  we  were  justified  in  applying  to  the  mini- 
mum side  of  the  thermometer  these  corrections  on  the  scale 
prepared  by  Captain  Davis,  and  a  new  set  of  experiments  has 
been  commenced  at  pressures  up  to  three  to  four  tons  on  the 
square  inch. 

This  last  class  of  errors  may  seem  very  trivial,  but  there  are 
cases,  where  questions  of  special  delicacy  arise,  in  which  they 
may  assume  considerable  importance.  Throughout  the  ocean 
generally,  at  all  events  between  the  two  polar  circles,  the  tem- 
perature of  the  ocean  may  be  said  as  a  rule  to  sink  from  the 
surface  to  the  bottom.  There  are  many  places,  however,  where 
this  gradual  sinking  appears  to  be  arrested  at  a  certain  point, 
from  which  the  temperature  remains  uniform  to  the  bottom. 
Frequently  the  temperature  as  recorded  by  the  thermometer 
reaches  a  minimum  at  a  depth  of  1800  or  2000  fathoms:  this 
is  the  case,  for  example,  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  result  is  in  the  main 
correct,  and  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  action  of  a  very  sim- 
ple law;  but  if  the  temperature  remained  exactly  the  same, 
the  application  of  this  ultimate  correction  to  depths  from  2000 
down  to  3000  fathoms  would  cause  the  thermometer  to  appear 
to  rise  sensibly.  This  certainly  is  not  generally  the  case,  or  it 
would  have  come  out  in  the  large '  number  of  observations 
wThich  have  been  made  under  circumstances  where  such  a  re- 
sult might  have  been  expected ;  and  therefore  I  think  we  must 
conclude  that  in  all  the  great  ocean  basins,  from  some  cause 
or  other,  there  is  a  very  slight  fall  of  temperature  to  the  very 
bottom. 


262 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


In  order  to  eliminate  as  far  as  possible  from  the  results  of 
our  serial  temperature  soundings  errors  depending  upon  irreg- 
ularities in  the  action  of  the  thermometers,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  in  all  cases,  instead  of  trusting  to  their  individual 
indications,  to  construct  a  free-hand  curve  for  each  series,  and 
to  take  the  indications  from  the  curve.  If  the  readings  of  the 
thermometer  are  plotted  to  scale,  and  if  we  attempt  to  con- 
struct such  a  symmetrical  curve  as  that  represented  in  Fig.  53, 
a  page  of  the  Curve-book,  selected  at  random  as  an  example, 
the  curve  naturally  passes  through  the  greater  number  of  the 
plotted  points,  leaving  out  one  or  two  at  a  greater  or  less  dis- 
tance at  either  side.  Where  many  of  the  thermometers  are 
astray,  as  not  unfrequently  happens  when  the  serial  sounding 
is  taken  in  heavy  weather,  this  process  requires  to  be  performed 
with  some  judgment,  and  is  liable  to  a  certain  amount  of  error ; 
but  it  is  wonderful  in  a  series  of  such  curves  how  strong  the 
internal  evidence  is  of  their  accuracy.  A  certain  marked  tem- 
perature phenomenon,  for  example,  is  indicated  in  a  certain 
locality  by  an  irregularity  in  the  curve ;  and  as  we  recede  from 
the  cause  of  disturbance,  the  irregularity  gradually  dies  out,  to 
be  replaced  very  probably  by  an  irregularity  due  to  some  other 
cause.  This  is  well  shown  in  the  curves  representing  the  grad- 
ual change  of  temperature  from  west  to  east  in  the  North  At- 
lantic aud  the  North  Pacific  (vol.  i.,  Figs.  100  and  101,  pp.  362 
and  366).  The  temperatures  used  in  the  text  and  in  the  tem- 
perature sections  are  taken  from  such  curves.  In  the  tables  in 
the  Appendices  the  temperatures  are  given  as  they  were  read 
from  the  thermometers,  after  applying  the  known  corrections 
for  pressure  and  error  of  zero-point,  in  order  that  the  actual 
data  from  which  the  curves  were  constructed  might  be  sup- 
plied. This  will  explain  the  discrepancies  which  frequently 
occur  between  the  temperatures  referred  to  in  the  text  and 
those  given  in  the  tables. 

Referring,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  distribution  of  tempera- 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


263 


ture  in  the  layer  extending  from  the  belt  of  comparatively  con- 
stant temperature  to  the  surface,  on  our  first  section  from  Ten- 


Fig.  53.— A  Page  of  the  Temperature  Cnrve-book,  for  Station  CCCXXV. 


eriffe  to  Sombrero,  we  found  the  temperatures  below  the  100- 
fathom  line  very  uniform,  the  upper  isothermobaths  crowding 
together  a  little,  and  the  lower  slightly  rising  to  the  westward. 


264 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


The  main  feature  in  the  section  was  the  steady  increase  to  the 
westward  of  the  temperature  of  the  surface-layer,  the  isotherm- 
obaths  of  19°,  20°,  21°,  22°,  23°,  and  24°  C.  being  added  in  regu- 
lar succession.  This  was  due  chiefly  to  the  southward  direction 
of  the  section,  partly  to  the  advance  of  the  season,  and  partly 
to  the  westward  determination  of  the  warm  surface-water. 

From  St.  Thomas  to  Bermudas  the  surface-temperature  nat- 
urally fell  gradually,  the  lower  lines  remaining  pretty  steady ; 
but  at  Station  XXVIIL,  lat.  24°  39'  K,  long.  65°  25'  W.,  a 
very  marked  widening  of  the  space  between  the  isotherm obaths 
of  18°  and  19°  C.  was  observed,  and,  farther  on,  the  whole  of 
the  space  between  the  lines  of  16°  and  19°  C.  became  abnor- 
mally expanded,  indicating  the  presence  of  a  layer  of  water 
200  fathoms  thick,  considerably  above  its  normal  temperature, 
lying  between  the  100  and  the  300  fathom  line.  This  warm 
band  appeared  again  to  the  north  of  Bermudas,  and  on  our 
north-westerly  course  toward  Sandy  Hook  (Plate  XL)  it  main- 
tained its  volume  and  position  to  lat.  36°  23'  N.,  long.  71° 
5V  W.,  when  it  came  to  the  surface,  or  became  merged  in  the 
phenomena  of  the  Grulf-stream. 

We  next  crossed  the  Gulf -stream,  of  which  I  have  nothing 
further  to  say  than  that  all  we  saw  confirmed  our  previous  con- 
victions as  to  its  cause  and  its  effects ;  and  we  sounded  in  the 
Labrador  Current,  the  local  and  most  insignificant  return  stream 
from  the  Arctic  Sea. 

On  our  return  from  Halifax  to  Bermudas  (Plate  IX.),  we 
again  encountered  the  warm  band  at  Station  LTL,  lat.  39°  44' 
1ST.,  long.  63°  22'  W.,  and  traced  it  all  the  way  to  the  island. 
To  the  east  of  Bermudas  it  again  made  its  appearance  on  our 
section  from  Bermudas  to  the  Acores  (Plate  XVI.),  and  main- 
tained its  volume  to  Station  LXX.,  lat.  38°  25'  K,  long.  35°  50' 
W.,  where  it  became  less  definite,  and  then  thinned  out,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  lower  isothermobaths  began  to  dip  down 
and  to  separate,  indicating  an  enormous  accumulation  of  super- 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


265 


heated  water,  occupying  depths  between  400  and  1000  fathoms, 
This  condition  continued  np  to  the  Island  of  Madeira ;  we  had 
already  established  that  it  extends  as  far  north  as  the  Bay  of 
Biscay. 

South  of  Madeira,  the  deep  warm  band  steadily  narrowed 
up  to  the  Cape  Yerde  Islands ;  and  after  we  passed  the  Bijouga 
Islands,  and  were  in  the  full  tide  of  the  Guinea  Current,  the 
isothermobaths  had  gathered  up  to  the  surface,  the  line  of  5° 
C.  being  at  300  fathoms,  and  reducing  the  warm  water  to  a 
mere  superficial  layer.  The  next  section,  from  Station  CIL  to 
Pernambuco  (Plate  XXIL),  was  nearly  equatorial,  and  the  same 
singular  condition  w^as  maintained  throughout — an  exceedingly 
rapid  fall  for  the  first  300  fathoms  to  a  temperature  of  about 
5°  C,  with  an  underlying  mass  of  cold  water  of  vast  thickness. 

Shortly  after  leaving  Bahia,  we  crossed  the  warm  surface- 
water  of  the  Brazil  Current ;  and  as  the  first  part  of  our  course, 
as  far  as  Tristan  d'Acunha,  then  lay  in  a  south-easterly  direc- 
tion, the  surface -temperature  of  course  steadily  declined,  the 
isothermobaths  between  10°  and  4°  C.  maintaining  their  pre- 
vious course,  crowded  together  between  the  depths  of  100  and 
400  fathoms  (Plate  XXYIIL).  From  Tristan  d'Acunha  the 
temperature  for  the  first  600  fathoms  remained  very  uniform 
in  its  rate  of  cooling  until  we  were  within  little  more  than 
twenty  miles  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  when  a  sudden  rise 
in  all  the  higher  temperatures  told  us  that  we  had  entered  the 
westward  loop  of  the  Agulhas  Current. 

In  the  southern  summer  of  1876,  on  our  course  from  Monte- 
video to  Tristan  d'Acunha,  for  the  first  900  miles  we  traversed 
the  southern  extension  of  the  Brazil  Current,  which  depressed 
the  isothermobaths  of  15°  C.  to  a  depth  of  nearly  200  fath- 
oms, with  some  cool  interdigitations  (Plate  XXXYIL),  and 
the  temperature  remained  very  equable  for  the  remainder  of 
the  section,  the  spaces  between  the  higher  isothermobaths  wid- 
ening a  little  to  the  eastward.  On  the  meridional  section  from 
II.— 18 


266 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  V. 


Tristan  d'Acunha  to  the  equator,  the  isothermobaths  between 
5°  and  20°  C.  altered  very  slightly  in  position  :  the  surface-lay- 
ers, of  course,  became  steadily  and  rapidly  warmer. 

Bearing  in  mind  that  at  a  certain  depth  below  the  surface, 
varying  only  slightly  in  different  regions,  there  is  a  thick  belt 
of  water  at  a  pretty  nearly  uniform  temperature  from  4°  to  5° 
C,  it  is  evident  that  the  much  higher  temperature  of  the  sur- 
face-layers must  be  due,  for  each  position,  directly  or  indirectly, 
to  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Normally  the  surface -temperature 
would  attain  its  maximum  near  the  equator,  and  would  decrease 
uniformly  toward  the  poles;  and  the  very  abnormal  distribu- 
tion of  temperature  which  actually  exists  must  depend  upon 
some  disturbing  cause  or  causes.  That  several  such  causes 
come  into  play,  and  many  complicated  combinations  of  these 
causes,  there  appears  to  be  little  doubt ;  but  one  disturbing 
cause  seems  to  be  so  paramount,  so  sufficient  in  itself  to  account 
for  the  observed  phenomena,  that  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  in 
this  preliminary  sketch  to  pursue  the  inquiry  beyond  it. 

The  permanent  winds,  blowing  eternally  in  one  direction 
where  the  water  is  hottest,  send  the  heated  surface-water  in  a 
constant  stream  to  the  westward.  This  "  equatorial  current,'7 
impinging  upon  the  coast  of  South  America  about  Cape  St. 
Bogue,  splits  in  two.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  northern 
branch  coursing  round  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  becoming  con- 
tracted and  condensed  by  the  Strait  of  Florida,  makes  itself 
manifest  as  the  celebrated  Grulf-stream ;  while  the  remainder, 
moving  outside  the  islands  in  a  gentler  and  less  obvious  cur- 
rent, spreads  over  the  great  bight  between  North  and  South 
America,  and  gives  an  indication  of  its  presence  in  the  high 
thermometer  -  readings  round  Bermudas,  and  westward  to  the 
Acores.  The  cause  of  the  second  and  deeper  hump  on  the 
temperature-curves  (vol.  i.,  Fig.  100),  in  a  section  between  Ber- 
mudas and  the  coast  of  Europe,  is  perhaps  not  so  evident.  The 
explanation  which  I  have  suggested  elsewhere  is  that  the  warm 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


267 


water  of  the  Gulf-stream,  forced  to  the  eastward  by  its  high  in- 
itial velocity,  and  thus  accumulated  at  the  head  of  the  Atlantic, 
whence  it  has  no  free  egress,  becomes  "  banked  down,"  and  the 
warm  stratum  abnormally  thickened  against  the  coast  of  West- 
ern Europe.  Some  ingenious  theories,  depending  upon  changes 
of  density  produced  by  evaporation,  and  changes  of  density 
combined  with  changes  of  temperature,  have  been  proposed  to 
account  for  the  great  accumulation  of  water  of  abnormally  high 
specific  gravity,  and  at  an  abnormally  high  temperature  in  the 
North  Atlantic ;  but  these  do  not  seem  to  be  satisfactory,  and 
as  they  can  only  be  supposed  to  act,  at  most,  as  very  subordinate 
auxiliaries  to  the  wind  circulation,  they  sink  in  importance  into 
the  category  of  questions  of  detail. 

The  branch  of  the  equatorial  current  deflected  to  the  south- 
ward of  Cape  St.  Roque  passes  down  as  the  Brazil  Current, 
parallel  with  the  coast  of  South  America.  In  its  southward 
extension  it  finds  no  barrier  corresponding  to  that  which  cir- 
cumscribes and  moulds  the  northern  branch.  Gradually  widen- 
ing out  and  becoming  less  defined,  at  the  same  time  acquiring 
a  sufficient  easterly  deflection  to  keep  it  out  from  the  coast,  it 
is  at  length  almost  merged  in  the  great  easterly  drift-current 
which  sweeps  round  the  world,  occupying  a  belt  600  to  1000 
miles  broad  in  the  Southern  Sea.  But  while  the  greater  part 
of  the  Brazil  Current  is  thus  merged,  it  is  not  entirely  lost ;  for 
at  its  point  of  junction  with  the  drift-current  of  the  westerlies 
all  the  upper  isobathytherms  are  slightly  deflected  to  the  south, 
and  opposite  the  point  where  this  deflection  occurs  there  is 
comparatively  open  sea  far  to  the  southward,  and  a  penetrable 
notch  in  the  southern  pack.  Taking  advantage  of  this,  Wed- 
dell,  in  1829,  and  Boss,  in  1843,  reached  the  parallels  of  14°  14' 
and  71°  30'  S.  respectively,  between  the  meridians  of  15°  and 
30°  W.  The  same  thing  occurs  with  regard  to  the  Agulhas 
Current  and  the  East  Australian  Current ;  but  the  case  of  the 
Brazilian  Current  is  a  little  more  complicated  than  that  of  the 


268 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


other  two,  for  there  is  high  and  extensive  land  between  the  me- 
ridians of  55°  and  65°  west,  in  65°  south  latitude  ;  and  the  warm 
current,  already  led  far  to  the  southward  by  the  American  coast, 
appears  to  bifurcate  upon  Graham  Land,  and  to  produce  another 
bight  in  90°  west  longitude,  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  southern 
point  of  South  America.  In  this  bight,  Cook,  in  1771,  and  Bel- 
lingshausen, in  1821,  pushed  nearly  to  the  seventieth  parallel  of 
south  latitude. 

I  have  already  referred  (vol.  ii.,  p.  75)  to  the  principal  tem- 
perature phenomenon  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  South  At- 
lantic— the  equatorial  counter-current,  and  its  extension  as  the 
Guinea  Current.  The  cause  of  the  counter-current  to  the  east- 
ward in  the  zone  of  calms  is  somewhat  obscure,  as  the  only  ob- 
vious explanation — that  it  is  a  current  in  an  opposite  direction 
induced  in  the  space  between  the  current  of  the  north-east  and 
south-east  trades  to  supply  the  water  removed  by  them — seems 
scarcely  sufficient  to  account  for  its  volume  and  permanence. 

The  comparative  thinness  of  the  belt  of  warm  surface-water 
in  the  equatorial  region  is  at  first  sight  remarkable,  and  has 
given  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  speculation  ;  but  it  will  be  seen 
by  comparing  the  distribution  of  temperature  at  Station  CXII. 
(Fig.  54),  nearly  on  the  line,  with  that  at  Station  CCCXXVIL, 
(Fig.  56),  in  the  latitude  of  Tristan  d'Acunha,  that  the  positions 
of  the  isothermobaths  of  4°  and  5°  C.  are  nearly  the  same  :  the 
slight  difference  apparently  depends  upon  the  latter  station  be- 
ing within  the  influence  of  the  Brazil  Current.  The  phenome- 
non is  thus  essentially  a  continuation  to  the  north  of  the  equa- 
tor of  southern  conditions,  and  the  small  eifect  of  the  vertical 
sun  in  raising  the  temperature  to  any  depth  below  the  surface 
is  doubtless  due  to  the  removal  of  the  heated  layer  as  soon  as  it 
is  formed  by  the  trade-winds  and  their  counter-currents,  and  to 
the  rapid  abstraction  of  heat  in  the  formation  of  watery  vapor. 

One  of  the  best-marked  and  most  important  phenomena  of 
the  distribution  of  temperature  in  the  upper  layers  of  the 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


269 


Atlantic  is  the  steady  increase  in  the  volume  of  warm  water 
from  the  south  northward.  For  example,  between  Montevideo 
and  Tristan  d'Acunha  we  find  the  isothermobath  of  7°  C.  at  an 
average  depth  of  about  250  fathoms.  Along  the  equator  at 
under  300  fathoms,  between  Teneriffe  and  Sombrero  it  occurs 
at  a  depth  of  500  fathoms,  and  between  Bermudas  and  Madeira 
at  about  600  fathoms.  The  principal  accumulation  of  warm 
water  at  depths  below  400  fathoms,  in  the  North  Atlantic,  is 
to  the  eastward. 

We  now  pass  to  the  more  difficult  problem  of  the  distribution 
of  temperature  in  the  mass  of  water  filling  up  the  trough  of  the 
Atlantic  beneath  the  uniform  belt.  The  isothermobath  of  3° 
C.  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  the  first  line  decidedly  within 
the  upper  boundary  of  the  cold  water,  and  we  learn  something 
by  observing  its  position.  In  the  most  northern  cross-section, 
between  Bermudas  and  Madeira,  it  occurs  at  a  depth  of  from 
1000  to  1200  fathoms  below  the  surface.  In  the  next  cross-sec- 
tion, from  Teneriffe  to  Sombrero,  it  has  nearly  the  same  position, 
becoming  a  little  deeper  toward  the  eastward.  In  the  next  sec- 
tion, along  the  equator,  it  is  at  a  depth  of  from  1000  to  1100 
fathoms,  nearly  as  before.  Between  San  Salvador  and  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  it  rises  to  a  mean  depth  of  600  fathoms, 
and  between  the  Falkland  Islands  and  Tristan  d'Acunha  it  is  at 
a  depth  of  from  500  to  600  fathoms.  The  broad  fact  thus  be- 
comes patent,  that  as  the  volume  of  warm  water  at  a  tempera- 
ture above  7°  C.  increases  to  the  northward,  so  the  mass  of  cold 
water  at  a  temperature  below  3°  C.  increases  toward  the  open- 
ing of  the  Atlantic  into  the  Southern  Sea. 

I  must  now  refer  again  to  the  frontispiece,  and  recall  the 
general  distribution  of  depth  in  the  Atlantic.  In  discussing 
this  question,  I  will  speak  of  the  eastern  basin  of  the  Atlantic, 
stretching  from  the  west  coast  of  Britain  nearly  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  bounded  to  the  westward  by  the  median  ridge ; 
the  north-western  basin,  bounded  to  the  west  and  north  by  the 


270 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


coast  of  North  America  and  the  shoal -water  extending  across 
to  Greenland,  to  the  east  by  the  median  ridge,  and  to  the  south 
by  the  spur  of  the  ridge  joining  the  coast  of  South  America  at 
Cape  Orange ;  and  the  south- western  basin  bounded  to  the  north 
by  this  spur,  to  the  west  by  the  coast  of  South  America,  to  the 
east  by  the  median  ridge,  and  to  the  south  entirely  open  to  the 
Antarctic  Sea.  In  all  our  serial  soundings  in  the  eastern  and 
the  north-western  basins,  the  temperature  slowly  fell  to  a  depth 
of  about  2000  fathoms,  and  from  that  depth  it  remained  nearly 
uniform  to  the  bottom,  the  difference  in  the  readings  beyond 
2000  fathoms  being  so  slight  as  to  be  well  within  the  limits  of 
error  of  observation  with  Six's  thermometers,  but,  on  the  whole, 
showing  a  tendency  to  sink,  or,  at  all  events,  showing  no  tend- 
ency to  rise  on  the  correction  for  pressure  being  applied,  which 
they  ought  to  have  done  had  the  temperature  been  absolutely 
the  same.  The  bottom  temperatures  and  the  recorded  temper- 
atures below  2000  fathoms  were  slightly,  but  constantly,  lower 
in  the  north-western  than  they  were  in  the  eastern  basin,  in 
the  former  averaging  about  1°*6  C,  and  in  the  latter  a  little 
under  l°-9  C. 

In  the  south-western  basin  the  vertical  distribution  of  tem- 
perature is  different,  and  this  difference  appears  to  give  the  key 
to  the  whole  question  of  the  distribution  of  temperature  at 
great  depths  in  the  Atlantic.  On  our  return  voyage,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1876,  four  observing  stations,  numbered  on  Plates  XXXIY. 
and  XXXV.  from  CCCXVIL  to  CCCXX.,  were  established. 
Two  of  these  were  in  comparatively  shallow  water  near  the 
edge  of,  but  still  upon,  the  plateau  which  extends  from  the 
coast  of  South  America  to  a  distance  of  nearly  400  miles,  and 
includes  the  Falkland  Islands ;  the  two  remaining  soundings, 
CCCXVIII.  and  CCCXIX.,  were  well  beyond  the  cliff  of  the 
plateau  at  depths  greater  than  2000  fathoms.  All  these  sound- 
ings, the  two  deep  ones  particularly,  indicate  the  presence  of  a 
great  underlying  mass  of  cold  water,  the  isothermobath  of  2°  C. 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


271 


occurring  at  Station  CCCXVIII.  at  a  depth  of  125  fathoms. 
At  Station  CCCXIX.  the  2°  C.  line  is  at  1100  fathoms,  and 
the  other  isotherm  obaths  up  to  5°  C.  show  a  corresponding  rise. 
I  attribute  this  remarkable  difference  between  two  soundings  so 
near  one  another  to  the  banking  of  the  cold  water  against  the 
submarine  cliff  by  the  Brazil  Current.  Sounding  CCCXYIII. 
seems  to  have  fallen  directly  upon  the  "  cold  wall." 

At  the  deeper  sounding  (CCCXIX.)  the  thermometer  fell, 
for  the  first  time  in  our  experience  in  the  South  Atlantic,  be- 
low the  freezing-point ;  but  the  relations  of  this  very  low  bot- 
tom temperature  will  be  better  understood  when  we  consider 
the  section  between  Montevideo  and  Tristan  d'Acunha. 

On  the  line  between  Montevideo  and  Station  CCCXXXV. 
fifteen  observing  stations  were  established.  The  first  three  of 
these,  CCCXXI.  to  CCCXXIIL,  were  on  the  estuary  of  the 
River  Plate,  or  (CCCXXIIL)  just  beyond  the  edge  of  the  delta 
at  its  mouth ;  the  next  seven,  CCCXXIV.  to  CCCXXX.,  gave 
a  section  of  a  wide  inlet  into  the  western  trough  of  the  South 
Atlantic  with  a  mean  depth  of  2750  fathoms ;  and  the  remain- 
ing five  stations,  CCCXXXI.  to  CCCXXXV.,  were  on  the  cen- 
tral rise,  with  an  average  depth  of  1850  fathoms.  The  mean 
bottom  temperature  of  the  seven  deep  soundings  is  —  0Oj4  C,  and 
that  of  the  five  soundings  on  the  rise  +l°-3  C.  The  isothermo- 
bath  of  0o,0  C.  is  at  a  depth  averaging  2400  fathoms,  a  depth 
which  it  never  much  exceeds  except  where  the  cold  water 
rises  against  the  American  coast,  as  at  Stations  CCCXIX.  and 
CCCXXIIL :  it  therefore  occurs  in  the  line  of  the  seven  deep 
soundings  only ;  and  there  it  forms  the  upper  limit  of  a  mass 
of  water  with  a  temperature  below  zero,  320  square  miles  in 
section.  Perhaps  the  isotherm obath  of  1°'5C.  may  fairly  be 
taken  as  the  upper  limit  of  the  very  cold  water ;  the  section  of 
the  Antarctic  indraught  below  that  temperature  is  here  about 
800  square  miles.  (The  transverse  section  of  the  Gulf-stream 
is  about  6  square  miles.    There  is  no  volume  of  water  at  all  in 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  V. 


the  Labrador  Current  below  10,5  C. 
opposite  Halifax,  that  temperature  be- 
ing only  found  at  the  bottom.) 

The  isothermobaths  of  2°,  2°-5,  3°, 
and  4°  C.  are  very  constant  at  1500, 
900,  600,  and  400  fathoms  respective- 
ly, for  all  the  stations  on  the  parallel 
except  Station  CCCXXIII.  on  the 
"  cold  wall,"  where  all  the  lower  tem- 
pi   perature-  lines  are  at  a  much  higher 
|    level,  and  at  the  shallow  sounding  at 
I    Station  CCCXXXL,  where  all  the 
I    lines  below  that  of  4°  C.  rise  slightly, 
g    We  must  be  careful,  however,  not  to 
a    attach  too  much  importance  to  slight 
E    deviations  of  the  colder  lines.  On 
|    the  scale  used  in  the  plates,  the  mean 
e    interval  between  the  isothermobaths 
|    of  2°  and  3°  C.  in  the  Atlantic  is 
|    1000  fathoms ;  so  that  a  rise  or  fall 
>    of  100  fathoms,  which  is  very  prom- 
~    inent  on  such  diagrams,  actually  rep- 
s    resents  only  one-tenth  of  a  centigrade 
degree,  an  amount  very  small  in  itself, 
I.    and  quite  within  the  limit  of  error  of 
g    observation  with  a  deep-sea  thermom- 
eter.   It  is  only  where  there  is  a  con- 
cordance among  several  isothermo- 
bathic  lines  in  such  a  rise  or  fall  that 
the  indication  is  of  any  real  value. 

From  these  observations  we  learn 
that  along  the  line  where  the  south- 
western trough  of  the  Atlantic  joins 
the  Southern  Sea  the  temperature  falls 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


275 


steadily  and  perceptibly  to  the  bottom,  and  that  the  bottom 
temperature  is  more  than  2°  C.  lower  than  the  temperature  at 
similar  depths  in  the  eastern  or  the  north-western  basin.  The 
conditions  which  exist  at  the  mouth  of  the  trough  extend  to 
the  equator. 

Figure  54  represents  the  vertical  distribution  of  temperature 
at  Station  CXIL,  lat.  3°  33'  S.,  long.  32°  16;  W.,  twenty-one 
miles  to  the  north-west  of  Fernando  Noronha.  Figure  55  gives 
the  temperature  at  Station  CXXIX.,  lat.  20°  12'  S.,  long.  35° 
19'  W.,  nearly  midway  between  Station  CXIL  and  Station 
CCCXXVII.,  one  of  the  most  characteristic  in  the  section  at 
present  under  consideration,  represented  in  Figure  56.  The 
depth  at  Station  CCCXXVII.  is  2900  fathoms,  and  the  depths 
at  the  two  other  stations  2150  and  2200  respectively;  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  at  the  latter  stations  the  bottom  tempera- 
tures correspond  almost  precisely  with  the  temperature  at  Sta- 
tion CCCXXVII.  at  like  depths.  The  isothermobath  of  2°  C. 
is  at  the  same  height,  1500  fathoms,  at  the  two  southern  sta- 
tions ;  and  at  the  northern  station  only,  near  the  equator,  it 
sinks  to  1800  fathoms.  The  isotherm obaths  of  2°*5  and  3°  C. 
correspond  within  a  hundred  fathoms  or  so  in  level  at  Stations 
CXXIX.  and  CCCXXVII. ;  at  Station  CXIL  all  the  isother- 
mobathic  lines  under  that  of  4°  C.  down  to  the  line  of  1°  C.  are 
much  lower  than  at  Stations  CXXIX.  and  CCCXXVII. ;  that 
is  to  say,  that  at  the  equator,  between  410  fathoms  and  2000 
fathoms,  the  water  is  considerably  warmer  than  it  is  farther 
south. 

The  isothermobathic  lines  of  4°  and  5°  C.  seem  everywhere 
in  the  Atlantic  to  mark  broadly  the  line  of  demarkation  be- 
tween the  upper  zone,  where  the  temperatures  are  obviously 
affected  by  the  diffusion  of  water  by  wind-currents ;  and  the 
lower  zone,  where  the  temperatures  are  continuous  with  those 
of  the  Southern  Sea.  In  the  North  Atlantic  they  are  markedly 
lower  than  they  are  to  the  south  of  the  equator ;  that  is  to  say, 


276 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


there  is  a  much  larger  body  of  water  above  them  heated  by 
conduction,  convection,  and  mixture. 

The  section  between  Montevideo  and  the  meridian  of  Tris- 
tan d'Acunha  includes,  besides  the  soundings  on  the  South- 
American  plateau  and  the  soundings  on  the  "  cold  wall,"  a  se- 
ries of  soundings  crossing  the  south-western  trough  with  an 
average  depth  of  2750  fathoms  and  an  average  bottom  temper- 
ature of  —  0°'4  C,  and  a  few  soundings  on  the  middle  ridge 
of  the  Atlantic,  with  an  average  depth  of  1850  fathoms  and 
a  mean  bottom  temperature  of  +1°*3  C.  There  seems  to  be 
little  doubt  that  in  the  trough  a  huge  mass  of  Antarctic  water, 
at  temperatures  ranging  from  +  1°*5  C.  to  —  0o,6  C,  is  creep- 
ing northward  at  depths  greater  than  1800  fathoms.  On  the 
central  rise  very  little  water  at  a  temperature  lower  than  + 1°*5 
C.  passes  northward ;  but  that  is  only  on  account  of  the  absence 
of  the  required  depth,  for  the  isothermobaths  of  1°'5  and  2°  C. 
are  practically  at  the  same  levels  respectively  over  the  central 
plateau  and  over  the  trough.  But  the  evidence  seems  equally 
cogent  that  the  water  at  depths  less  than  1800  fathoms,  and  at 
temperatures  higher  than  1°'5  C,  is  part  of  the  same  mass,  and 
is  moving  in  the  same  direction.  We  can  trace  the  same  strata 
continuously  over  the  trough  and  over  the  eastern  and  north- 
western basins,  the  temperature  of  each  layer  only  very  slightly 
rising,  as  has  been  already  shown,  to  the  northward. 

Suppose  a  mass  of  water  at  a  temperature  gradually  sinking 
from  the  surface  downward  (Fig.  57)  to  be  flowing  slowly  in 
a  certain  direction,  and  suppose  the  course  of  that  water  to  be 
intercepted  by  a  barrier  which  rises  to  the  height  of  the  layer 
of  water  at  a  temperature  of  2°*0  C.  Suppose  at  the  same  time 
that  the  water  beyond  the  barrier  is  not  constitutionally  prone 
to  alter  its  temperature,  and  that  it  is  quietly  drawn  off  before 
it  has  time  to  do  so  from  any  external  cause.  It  seems  clear 
that  the  water  beyond  the  barrier  will  be  of  the  uniform  tem- 
perature to  the  bottom  of  the  stratum  of  water  which  is  passing 


chap,  v.]  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS.  277 

over  the  barrier,  or  very  nearly  so ;  for  if  there  be  any  appre- 
ciable vis  d  tergo,  a  little  water  at  a  slightly  lower  temperature 
will  force  itself  over  the  barrier  and  sink  to  the  bottom. 


Fig.  57. — Diagram  showing  the  Effect  of  a  "Continuous  Barrier"  on  Ocean  Temperature. 


Now,  if  we  admit  that  the  water  in  the  basin  of  the  Atlantic 
consists  of  a  continuous  indraught  welling  into  it,  from  some 
cause,  from  the  Southern  Sea,  the  southern  water  is  welling 
into  a  space  honey-combed  by  such  barriers.  On  the  eastern 
side  it  meets  with  a  barrier  not  far  to  the  north  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  uniting  the  coast  of  Africa  with  the  central 
ridge,  and  no  water  can  pass  into  the  eastern  basin  at  any  lower 
level  than  the  lowest  part  of  that  barrier  and  of  that  ridge. 
On  the  western  side  of  the  central  ridge  the  water  passes  freely 
up  in  the  south-western  basin  nearly  as  far  as  the  equator; 
but  opposite  British  Guiana  it  is  met  by  the  barrier  uniting 
the  coast  of  South  America  with  the  central  ridge,  so  that 
here  again  the  ingress  of  all  water  below  a  certain  tempera- 
ture is  stopped,  and  although  the  extreme  depth  of  the  north- 
western basin  is  at  least  3875  fathoms,  the  temperature  of 


278 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  v. 


1°*6  C.  is  maintained  from  a  depth  of  2000  fathoms  to  the 
bottom. 

All  the  facts  of  temperature  distribution  in  the  Atlantic  ap- 
pear to  favor  the  view  that  the  entire  mass  of  Atlantic  water 
is  supplied  by  an  indraught  from  the  Southern  Sea,  moving 
slowly  northward,  and  interrupted  at  different  heights  by  the 
continuous  barriers  which  limit  its  different  basins ;  but  this 
involves  the  remarkable  phenomenon  of  a  vast  body  of  water 
constantly  flowing  into  a  cul-de-sac  from  which  there  is  no  exit. 
When  I  suggested  this  view  some  years  ago,  I  was  asked,  very 
naturally,  how  it  was  possible  that  more  water  could  now  into 
the  Atlantic  than  flowed  out  of  it,  and  at  that  time  I  could  see 
no  answer  to  the  question,  although  I  felt  sure  that  a  solution 
must  come  some  day.  Now  it  seems  simple  enough ;  but  in 
order  to  understand  the  conditions  fully,  I  would  ask  my  read- 
ers to  recall  the  appearance  of  the  Atlantic — and  of  the  Pacific 
also,  which  is  under  exactly  the  same  conditions — not  on  a  map 
on  Mercator's  projection,  where  the  northern  and  southern  por- 
tions are  necessarily  greatly  distorted,  but  on  a  terrestrial  globe, 
or  on  such  a  representation  of  part  of  a  globe  as  we  have  in 
the  frontispiece  to  this  volume.  The  earth  may  be  divided 
into  two  halves,  aptly  called  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  the  land  and 
the  water  hemisphere,  one  of  which  contains  the  greater  part 
of  the  ocean,  while  the  other  includes  almost  all  the  land,  with 
the  exception  of  Australia.  On  the  globe  one  sees  much  more 
clearly  than  on  a  map  that  the  Atlantic  is  a  mere  tongue,  as  it 
were,  of  the  great  ocean  of  the  water  hemisphere  stretching  up 
into  the  land.  The  Arctic  Ocean,  with  which  it  is  in  connec- 
tion, is,  again,  a  very  limited  sea,  and  nearly  land-locked.  The 
North  Pacific  is  another  gulf  from  this  water  hemisphere,  but 
one  vastly  wider  and  of  greater  extent ;  while  the  South  Pa- 
cific is  included  within  the  water  hemisphere. 

Although  from  the  meridional  extension  of  the  continents 
to  the  southward,  the  water  of  the  Atlantic  is,  as  I  have  shown, 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


279 


directly  continuous,  layer  for  layer,  with  the  water  of  the  Ant- 
arctic basin,  it  must  be  looked  upon,  not  as  being  in  connection 
with  that  basin  only,  but  as  being  a  portion  of  the  great  ocean 
of  the  water  hemisphere ;  and  over  the  central  part  of  the  wa- 
ter hemisphere  precipitation  is  certainly  greatly  in  excess  of 
evaporation,  while  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  its  extensions  to 
the  northward.  The  water  is,  therefore,  carried  off  by  evapora- 
tion from  the  northern  portions  of  the  Atlantic  and  of  the  Pa- 
cific, and  the  vapor  is  hurried  down  toward  the  great  zone  of 
low  barometric  pressure  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  heavy, 
cold  water  welling  up  from  the  southward  into  the  deepest 
parts  of  the  northward-extending  troughs  to  which  it  has  free 
access  to  replace  it.  It  is  unfortunate  that  we  have  as  yet 
scarcely  sufficient  data  to  estimate  the  relative  amount  of  rain 
and  snow  in  the  northern  and  southern  hemispheres;  but  the 
broad  fact  that  there  is  very  much  more  in  the  southern  is  so 
patent  as  scarcely  to  require  proof.  This  excess  becomes  still 
more  apparent  when  we  include,  as  we  must  do,  in  this  source 
of  supply  of  water  to  the  north,  the  tropical  region  of  the  South 
Pacific,  which  forms  part  of  the  great  ocean. 

To  recapitulate  briefly  the  general  facts  and  conclusions  with 
regard  to  the  distribution  of  ocean  temperature  in  the  Atlantic, 
it  seems  to  me  : 

1.  That  the  Atlantic  must  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  an 
inlet  or  gulf  of  the  general  ocean  of  the  water  hemisphere, 
opening  directly  from  the  Southern  Sea. 

2.  That  the  water  of  the  Southern  Sea  simply  wells  up  into 
the  Atlantic,  and  that  all  the  temperature  bands  of  the  Atlantic 
are  essentially  continuous  with  like  temperature  bands  in  the 
Southern  Sea,  with  these  modifications  :  That  (a)  above  a  certain 
line,  which  may  be  roughly  represented  by  the  isothermobathic 
lines  of  5°  and  4°  C,  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  manifestly 
affected  by  direct  radiation  and  by  the  very  complicated  effects, 
direct  and  indirect,  of  wind  -  currents ;  and  (b)  that  the  whole 


280 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


mass  of  water  gradually  and  uniformly  rises  in  temperature 
toward  the  head  of  the  gulf. 

3.  That  water  at  any  given  temperature  (below  4°  C.)  can 
only  occur  in  the  Atlantic  where  there  is  a  direct  communi- 
cation with  the  belt  of  water  at  the  same  temperature  in  the 
Southern  Sea  without  the  intervention  of  any  continuous  bar- 
rier. (The  actual  result  of  the  present  arrangement  of  such 
barriers  is,  that,  however  great  the  depth  may  be,  no  water  at 
a  temperature  lower  than  l°-9  C.  is  found  in  the  eastern  basin  ; 
none  at  a  temperature  lower  than  10,6  C.  in  the  north-western  ; 
and  none  beneath  the  freezing-point  anywhere  in  the  Atlantic, 
except  in  the  depression  between  the  coast  of  South  America 
and  the  central  ridge,  to  the  south  of  the  equator.) 

4.  That  the  temperature  of  the  Atlantic  is  not  sensibly  af- 
fected by  any  cold  indraught  from  the  Arctic  Sea.  (I  purposely 
neglect  the  Labrador  Current  and  the  small  branch  of  the  Spitz- 
bergen  Current,  for  these  certainly  do  not  sensibly  affect  the 
general  temperature  of  the  North  Atlantic.) 

5.  That  although  there  is  a  considerable  flow  of  surface-wa- 
ter through  the  influence  of  wind-currents  from  the  Atlantic 
into  the  Southern  Sea,  that  flow  is  not  sufficient  to  balance  the 
influx  into  the  basin  of  the  Atlantic  (the  constant  influx  being 
proved  by  the  maintenance  of  a  general  uniformity  in  the  course 
of  the  isothermobathic  lines,  and  by  the  maintenance  in  all  the 
secondary  basins  of  the  minimum  temperature  due  to  the  height 
of  their  respective  barriers) ;  that,  for  several  reasons  (the  lower 
barometric  pressure,  and  the  supposed  greater  amount  of  rain-fall 
in  the  Southern  Sea ;  the  higher  specific  gravity  at  the  surface 
than  at  greater  depths  in  the  Atlantic ;  the  higher  specific  grav- 
ity of  the  surface-water  in  the  Atlantic  to  the  north  than  to  the 
south  of  the  equator),  it  is  probable  that  the  general  circulation 
is  kept  up  chiefly  by  an  excess  of  evaporation  in  the  region  of 
the  North  Atlantic,  balancing  a  corresponding  excess  of  precip- 
itation over  evaporation  in  the  water  hemisphere. 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


281 


The  Distribution  and  Nature  of  the  Deep-sea  Fauna. — The 
most  prominent  and  remarkable  biological  result  of  the  recent 
investigations  is  the  final  establishment  of  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
tribution of  living  beings  has  no  depth-limit ;  but  that  animals 
of  all  the  marine  invertebrate  classes,  and  probably  fishes  also, 
exist  over  the  whole  of  the  floor  of  the  ocean ;  and  some  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  problems  which  are  now  before  us  have 
reference  to  the  nature  and  distribution  of  the  deep-sea  fauna, 
and  to  its  relations  with  the  fauna  of  shallower  water,  and  with 
the  faunse  of  past  periods  in  the  earth's  history.  This  is,  how- 
ever, precisely  the  class  of  questions  which  we  are  as  yet  least 
prepared  to  enter  into,  for  every  thing  depends  upon  the  care- 
ful study  and  the  critical  determination  of  the  animal  forms 
which  have  been  procured ;  and  this  task,  which  will  occupy 
many  specialists  for  several  years,  has  been  only  just  com- 
menced. 

My  present  impression  is  that  although  life  is  thus  univers- 
ally extended,  the  number  of  species  and  of  individuals  dimin- 
ishes after  a  certain  depth  is  reached,  and  that  at  the  same  time 
their  size  usually  decreases.  This  latter  observation  is  not, 
however,  true  for  all  groups ;  a  peculiar  family  of  the  Holo- 
thuridea,  very  widely  distributed  in  deep  water,  maintain  the 
full  dimensions  of  the  largest  of  their  class,  and  even  exhibit 
some  forms  of  unusual  size.  Of  the  value  of  our  present  im- 
pressions on  such  questions  I  am  by  no  means  sure.  Using 
all  precautions,  and  with  ample  power  and  the  most  complete 
appliances,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  work  either  with  the 
dredge  or  with  the  trawl  at  depths  approaching  or  exceeding 
3000  fathoms.  A  single  dredging  operation  in  such  depths 
takes  a  long  time ;  the  dredge  is  put  over  at  day-break,  and  it 
is  usually  dark  before  it  is  recovered,  so  that  .the  number  of 
such  operations  must  be  comparatively  small.  It  is  necessary 
to  take  every  precaution  to  keep  the  ship  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  the  same  place;  and  as  this  can  never  be  done  absolutely,  it 

II.— 19 


282 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


is  unsafe  to  run  the  risk  of  adding  to  any  motion  which  the 
dredge  may  already  have  acquired,  by  attempting  to  drag  it 
for  any  distance  over  the  ground.  The  consequence  is,  that  in 
those  cases  where  the  dredge  does  reach  the  bottom,  it  probably 
too  often  sinks  at  once  into  the  soft  ooze  and  remains  clogged 
with  a  single  "  mouthful "  until  it  is  hauled  up  again.  Some- 
times a  slight  excess  of  movement  in  the  vessel,  from  currents 
or  from  wind-drift,  seems  to  give  a  vibratory  motion  to  the 
enormous  length  of  rope,  and  to  keep  the  dredge  tripping  over 
the  ground,  so  that  only  a  few  things  are  picked  up  by  the 
tangles  or  clinging  to  the  outside  of  the  net.  We  must,  there- 
fore, bear  in  mind  that  only  an  infinitesimally  small  portion 
of  the  floor  of  the  ocean  at  depths  over  2500  fathoms  has  yet 
been  explored. 

Whatever  may  be  the  case  at  the  extreme  depths  referred 
to,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  at  depths  which  may  be  regarded 
as  comparatively  accessible,  say  a  little  above  2000  fathoms, 
the  fauna  is  sufficiently  varied.  I  give  in  Appendix  B  to 
this  chapter  a  table  taken  from  the  Station-book,  showing  the 
number  of  occurrences  of  representatives  of  the  principal  groups 
of  marine  animals  at  the  fifty-two  stations  at  which  we  dredged 
or  trawled  successfully  at  depths  greater  than  2000  fathoms 
during  the  voyage.  All  the  groups  marked  with  an  asterisk 
on  this -list  were  represented,  having  been  observed  and  noted 
when  the  trawl  or  dredge  came  up.  It  is  very  probable  that 
on  going  over  the  collection  carefully  it  will  be  found  that 
many,  particularly  of  the  smaller  forms,  have  been  omitted. 
The  occurrences  of  fishes,  of  cephalopods,  and  of  decapod  crus- 
taceans must  be  taken  with  a  reservation ;  for  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  determine  whether  they  were  taken  on  the  bottom, 
or  above  it  during  the  hauling-in  of  the  net. 

The  distribution  of  life  evidently  depends  in  a  marked  de- 
gree either  upon  the  nature  of  the  bottom  or  upon  the  condi- 
tions which  modify  the  nature  of  the  bottom.    Thus  over  the 


Plate  XL  I.    Meteorological  Ob 


Barometer 


Dry  iiiilh  Thermometer 


1 


Tfbe  arrows  z*u?7&z£e/  tJv&  cl^e^Oum.  of'tA&  wind,'  czrvcl;  tfve 


3-i 


t  s  z 


10  13 


12  13 


14  15 


£S«t 


ill 


Ifiilii 


i 


33 


MS 


212 


23 


515. 


444 


ASCEHSI 


SEUIH 


SII 


SSI 


vations  for  the  month  of  April,  1876. 

Bulb  Thermometer  -  Temperature  of  Sea  Surface 


17      18       19      20      2i       2Z      23      24-      25      26      27      28      29  30 


— 

i 

A 

7 

\ 

/ 

"A 

7 

43 

; 

i 

E: 

■ 

_  - 

— 

i 

- 

V 

-  -T 

t" 

— 

s 

L 

— 

-r 

-- 

- 

— 

-■ 

— 

— 

—  - 

— 
— 

-f- 

L 

- 

- 

J 

t 

- 

— 

/ 

\ 

- 

A 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

r 

— 

■ 

— 

-- 

- 

■ 

T 

L 

r- 

- 

\  ' 

- 

- 

ee 

-5- 

w 

1 

X 

T 

/ 

-- 

- 

- 

* 

/  u 
•■•  '■• 

✓  > 

/ 

/ 

i  <. 

j 

i 

1 

i 

4, 

j 

1 

1 

- 

1 

•).- 

1 

1 

J 

1 

./ 

■ 

• 

52 

3 

2 

3 

3 

5  £ 

*; 

- 

- 

Y  3 

4-  ^ 

4- 

3<< 

3  S 

2 

0 

f 

o 

3 

> 

| 

2 

3  ■" 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

-5- 

T 

c 

PI 

U 

V 

p 

<: 

R 

T 

G 

0 

E 

3 

!  \ 

1 1 

N 

C 

F 

w 

CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


283 


vast  areas  where  the  calcareous  matter  of  the  pelagic  foraminif- 
era  has  been  removed,  and  the  bottom  consists  of  red  or  gray 
clay,  animal  life  is  scarce ;  and  is  represented  chiefly  by  shell- 
less  orders,  such  as  the  Holothuridea  and  the  Annelids.  This 
comparative  sterility  depends,  no  doubt,  to  a  great  degree  upon 
the  absence  of  carbonate  of  lime,  but  not  entirely  so  ;  for  the 
most  sterile  regions  of  the  whole  sea  are  the  mortar-like  lime 
deposits  which  form  the  slopes  of  coral  reefs  and  islands.  There 
appears  to  be  something  in  the  state  of  aggregation  of  the  lime 
in  the  Globigerina  shells  and  its  intimate  union  with  organic 
matter  which  renders  the  globigerina  ooze  a  medium  peculiarly 
favorable  to  the  development  of  the  higher  forms  of  life.  The 
stomachs  of  the  more  highly  organized  animals  living  in  it  or 
on  its  surface  are  always  full  of  the  fresher  f oraminif eral  shells, 
from  which  they  undoubtedly  derive  not  only  material  for  the 
calcification  of  their  tests,  but  nitrogenous  matter  for  assimila- 
tion likewise. 

As  we  had  previously  anticipated,  the  fauna  at  great  depths 
was  found  to  be  remarkably  uniform.  Species  nearly  allied 
to  those  found  in  shallow  water  of  many  familiar  genera  were 
taken  in  the  deepest  hauls,  so  that  it  would  seem  that  the  enor- 
mous pressure,  the  utter  darkness,  and  the  differences  in  the 
chemical  and  physical  conditions  of  the  water,  and  in  the  pro- 
portions of  its  contained  gases  depending  upon  such  extreme 
conditions,  do  not  influence  animal  life  to  any  great  extent. 

The  geographical  extension  of  any  animal  species,  whether 
on  land  or  in  the  sea,  appears  to  depend  mainly  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  a  tolerably  uniform  temperature,  and  the  presence 
of  an  adequate  supply  of  suitable  food,  the  latter  condition 
again  depending  chiefly  upon  the  former;  and  the  conditions 
both  of  temperature  and  of  food-supply  are  very  uniform  at 
extreme  depths  where  the  nature  of  the  bottom  is  the  same. 
Possibly  the  element  next  in  importance  is  the  length  of  time 
during  which  migration  may  have  taken  place,  and  there  seems 


284 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


much  reason  for  believing  that  the  great  ocean  depressions  of 
the  present  time  have  persisted  through  all  the  later  geological 
periods,  back  probably  as  far  as  the  Permian  Age,  and  perhaps 
much  farther.  If  this  be  so,  the  length  of  time  during  which 
the  vast  area  occupied  by  the  abyssal  fauna  has  maintained  its 
continuity,  and  probably  a  great  uniformity  in  essential  condi- 
tions, is  incalculable ;  that  is  to  say,  it  can  not,  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  be  reduced  even  approximately  to  as- 
tronomical time. 

In  discussing  the  general  distribution  of  temperature,  the 
reasons  have  been  already  given  which  have  led  us  to  the  be- 
lief that  there  is  a  constant  underflow  of  water  from  the  south 
northward,  and  one  would  naturally  expect  some  indication  of 
migration  having  proceeded,  and  continuing  to  proceed,  in  that 
direction.  It  is  impossible  to  come  to  a  definite  conclusion 
on  this  question  until  the  species  in  the  different  groups  shall 
have  been  critically  determined :  there  seems,  however,  to  be 
little  doubt  that  the  families  which  are  specially  characteris- 
tic of  the  abyssal  fauna,  such  as  the  Hexactinellid  sponges, 
the  stalked  Crinoids,  the  Echinothuridse,  and  the  genera  al- 
lied to  Inf  ulaster  and  Mieraster  among  the  Echinidea,  are 
more  abundant,  and  larger  and  more  fully  developed,  in  the 
Antarctic  Ocean,  and  in  the  great  ocean  of  the  water  hemi- 
sphere generally,  than  they  are  in  the  Atlantic  and  the  North 
Pacific. 

Our  preliminary  dredgings  in  the  North  Atlantic  along  the 
coasts  of  Portugal  and  Spain  were  chiefly  on  the  globigerina 
ooze  at  depths  under  2000  fathoms;  and  there  we  found  all 
the  ordinary  forms  of  deep-sea  life  abundant,  particularly 
sponges  referable  to  the  genera  Hyalonema,  Aphrocallistes, 
Euplectella,  Corallistes,  and  Caminus.  As  this  area  had  been 
gone  over  by  Mr.  Gwyn  Jeffreys  in  the  Porcupine  we  were 
already  aware  that  stalked  crinoids  and  corals  of  Tertiary  types 
occurred. 


chap,  v.]  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS.  285 

The  first  section  across  the  Atlantic,  from  Teneriffe  to  Som- 
brero, was  through  deep  water,  and  principally  over  a  bot- 
tom of  red  clay,  the  most  unproductive  of  all  the  deep-sea 
sediments.  The  following  table  gives  an  idea  of  the  pro- 
portion in  which  the  principal  zoological  groups  were  repre- 
sented : 


ci  o5 

CO  gj 

ion  1 
F'm 

t  a 

.2  fa 

CO  g 

.2  fa 

.2  Eh 

:J 

.2  fa 

il 

il 

o  fa 

os  Q 

gfa 

"a 

Stat 
1890 

Stat 
1945 

Stat 
1530 

Stat 
2740 

Stat 
3150 

Stati 
1900 

Stati 
1950 

11 

Stati 
1420 

Stati 
450 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Decapoda  

* 

* 

* 

* 

Edriophthalmata  . .  . 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Gephyrea  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Asteridea  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Alcyonaria  

* 

* 

Porifera  

* 

* 

* 

* 

The  only  stations  in  this  section  which  can  be  considered  at 
all  productive  are  No.  III.  and  No.  XIII.,  both  on  globigerina 
ooze,  and  Station  XXIII.  in  shallow  water  off  the  Island  of 
St.  Thomas.  At  the  other  stations  animal  forms  were  few  in 
number,  and  apparently  stunted  in  growth. 

In  the  next  series  of  stations,  from  Bermudas  to  Sandy  Hook 
and  Halifax  and  back  to  Bermudas,  the  conditions  varied  great- 
ly ;  but  by  far  the  greatest  abundance  of  animal  life  occurred 
in  the  comparatively  shallow  water,  including  one  or  two  of 
the  cod  banks  off  the  American  coast  and  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia.  The  fauna  of  that  region  was  of  course,  on  the  whole, 
well  known ;  some  interesting  observations  were,  however, 
made  on  the  distribution  of  the  subarctic  fauna  in  deeper 


286 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


water.  At  one  or  two  stations  off  the  edge  of  the  banks  sev- 
eral species  of  the  curious  Infulaster-like  genus  Pourtalesia 
occurred,  but  extremely  small  and  dwarfed,  a  great  contrast 
to  the  fully  developed  forms  of  the  same  group  which  are 
abundant  in  the  Antarctic  Sea. 


Station  24. 
390  F'ms. 

Station  29.  I 
2700  I  \ns. 

Station  33. 
435  F'ms. 

'  Station  36. 
32  F'ms. 

Station  40. 
2675  F'ms. 

Station  44. 
1700  F'ms. 

Station  45. 
1250  F'ms. 

Station  46. 
1350  F'ms. 

Station  47. 
1340  F'ms. 

Station  48. 
51  F'ms. 

Station  49. 
83  F'ms. 

Station  50. 
1250  F'ms. 

Station  54. 
2650  F'ms. 

Station  56. 
1075  F'ms. 

Station  57. 
690  F'ms. 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Lamellibranchiata 
Brachiopoda  

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Edriophthalmata . 

* 

* 

* 

Cirripedia ....... 

* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

Gephyrea  

Holothuridea .... 
Echinoidea  

* 

* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 

* 
* 
* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 
* 

* 
* 

* 
* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

Asteridea  

Crinoidea  

HydromedusEe  . .  . 
Zoantharia  

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 
* 
* 

* 
* 

Porifera  

* 

Although  most  of  the  dredgings  between  Bermudas  and  Ma- 
deira, with  the  exception  of  a  few  near  the  Acores,  were  in  very 
deep  water,  animal  life  was  fairly  represented ;  and  some  groups, 
the  Cirripedia,  for  example,  yielded  one  or  two  of  their  largest 
and  most  striking  species. 

The  six  stations  on  the  section  between  Madeira  and  Station 
OIL  were  mostly  in  water  of  moderate  depth  on  a  line  parallel 
with  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  sufficiently  near  the  coast  to  have 
the  deposits  sensibly  influenced  by  the  presence,  of  land  detri- 
tus.   Such  an  admixture  of  river  or  shore  mud  is  usually  unfa- 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


287 


Station  61. 
2850  F'ms. 

Station  63. 
2750  F'ms. 

Station  64. 
2750  F'ms. 

Station  68. 
2175  F'ms. 

Station  69. 
2200  F'ms. 

Station  70. 
1675  F'ms. 

Station  71. 
1675  F'ms. 

Station  72. 
1240  F'ms. 

Station  73. 
1000  F'ms. 

Station  76. 
900  F'ms. 

Station  78. 
1000  F'ms. 

Station  79. 
2025  F'ms.  | 

Station  83. 
1650  F'ms. 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Edriophthalmata  

* 
* 

* 
* 

* 

* 

* 
* 
* 

Annelida  

* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Holothuridea  

* 

* 
* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 
* 

* 
* 
* 

Ophiuridea  

* 

* 

* 

Hydromedusae  

* 
* 

* 

* 
* 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

vorable  to  the  development  of  a  rich  fauna,  and  the  number  of 
groups  represented  is  accordingly  small. 


£  § 

§| 

s  i 

§fe 

Stati 
1125 

Stati 
1675 

Stati 
2400 

"-5  o 

Static 
2500 

Pisces   

* 

* 

* 

Gastropoda  

* 

Lamellibranchiata  

* 

Schizopoda  

* 

* 

Cirripedia  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Echinoidea  

Ophiuridea  

* 

* 

Asteridea  

* 

Alc}7onaria  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Of  the  next  series  of  stations  where  the  trawl  or  dredge  was 
employed  successfully,  the  first  three,  CIY.,  CVL,  and  CVIL, 


288 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


were  in  deep  water  nearly  under  the  line ;  Station  CIX.  was  in 
shallow  water  near  St.  Paul's  Hocks ;  Station  CIII.  a  was  close 
to  the  Island  of  Fernando  Noronha ;  and  the  remainder  were 
at  moderate  depths,  usually  much  below  1000  fathoms,  along  the 
Brazilian  coast  from  Cape  St.  Koque  southward  to  Bahia.  The 
fauna  of  course  varied  greatly  in  this  section  with  the  varying 
conditions.  Along  the  coast  of  Brazil  the  bottom  was  usually 
river-mud  more  or  less  mixed  with  the  shells  of  globigerina  and 
the  debris  of  surface  shells;  and  the  fauna  was  comparatively 
rich,  recalling  that  of  the  western  coast  of  South  Europe  in  the 
abundance  of  hexactinellid  and  coralloid  sponges. 


?!  c 

§§ 

~  a 

2  1 

>n  113  . 
5  F'ms 

s 120, 1 
500  F'r 

Si 

on  122 
F'ms. 

%t 

2  H 

s  ° 

Stati 
250( 

Stati 
185( 

Stati 
150( 

|T 

Station 
675  & 

Stati 
350 

"g  o 
XJl 

Stati 
400 

Stati 
1600 

Station 
1200  & 

Pisces   

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Lamellibranchiata  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Decapoda  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Cirripedia  

* 

Annelida  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Asteridea  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Zoantharia  

* 

Alcvonaria  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Porifera  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

The  following  table  gives  the  general  distribution  of  the 
principal  animal  groups  along  a  line  extending  from  the  coast 
of  South  America  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  nearly  along  the 
parallel  of  40°  south.  Most  of  these  dredgings  were  in  compar- 
atively deep  water,  some  on  the  gray  and  red  clays  of  the  west- 
ern and  eastern  troughs,  and  several  on  the  median  ridge  of  the 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


289 


Atlantic.  Along  this  line,  which  may  be  said  to  indicate  the 
limit  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Southern  Sea,  the  forms 
which  are  specially  abyssal,  and  which  are  most  nearly  related 
to  extinct  chalk  or  older  tertiary  species,  are  certainly  more 
fully  developed  and  more  numerous  than  they  are  in  any  part 
of  the  Atlantic  "  gulf." 


Station  131. 
'2275  F'ms. 

Station  133. 
1900  F'ms. 

Station  134. 
100—150  F'ms. 

Station  135. 
1000  F'ms. 

Station  137. 
2550  F'ms. 

Station  322. 
21  F'ms. 

Station  323. 
1900  F'ms. 

Station  325. 
2650  F'ms. 

Station  331. 
1715  F'ms. 

Station  332. 
2200  F'ms. 

Station  333.  | 
2025  F'ms.  1 

Station  334. 
1915  F'ms. 

Station  335. 
1425  F'ms. 

Pisces  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Gastropoda  

* 

Lamellibranchiata  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 
* 

* 

Decapoda  , 

* 

Schizopoda  

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

'* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place,  before  leaving  this  subject,  to  give 
a  brief  preliminary  sketch  of  the  distribution  of  the  groups  of 
marine  organisms  which  inhabit  the  depths  of  the  sea ;  or,  lead- 
ing a  pelagic  existence,  contribute  by  the  subsidence  of  their 
hard  parts  after  death  to  the  formation  of  submarine  deposits. 
This  is  a  subject  which  must  be  much  more  fully  discussed 
when  the  species  have  been  determined,  and  the  new  forms  de- 
scribed ;  but  we  have  already  perhaps  sufficient  material  for  a 
general  outline. 

No  plants  live,  so  far  as  we  know,  at  great  depths  in  the  sea ; 
and  it  is  in  all  probability  essentially  inconsistent  with  their  nat- 


290 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


lire  and  mode  of  nutrition  that  they  should  do  so.  What  may 
be  their  extreme  limit  I  am  not  prepared  to  say;  some  strag- 
gling plants  may  occur  at  much  greater  depths,  but  certainly 
what  is  usually  understood  by  vegetation  is  practically  limited 
to  depths  under  100  fathoms.  Very  few  of  the  higher  Algse 
live  even  occasionally  on  the  surface  of  the  sea.  The  notable 
exception  is  the  gulf -weed  (Sargassum  bacciferum\  which  scat- 
ters its  feathery  islets  over  vast  areas  of  warm,  still  water,  and 
affords  rest  and  shelter  to  the  peculiar  nomadic  fauna  to  which 
I  have  already  alluded  (vol.  i.,  p.  180,  etc.). 

Confervoids  and  unicellular  Algge  occur,  however,  frequently, 
and  sometimes  in  such  profusion  as  to  discolor  the  water  over 
an  area  of  many  miles.  If  Diatoms  are  to  be  regarded  as 
plants,  these  are  found  abundantly  on  the  surface,  more  partic- 
ularly where  the  specific  gravity  of  the  water  is  comparatively 
low.  The  frustules  of  Diatoms  occur  in  all  the  deep-sea  de- 
posits in  greater  or  less  number ;  and  in  some  places,  as  at  a 
few  of  the  stations  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  they  form  the  bulk  of 
the  sample  brought  up  by  the  sounding -machine.  Over  the 
area  occupied  by  this  siliceous  deposit,  the  higher  fauna  were 
found  to  consist  mainly  of  forms  with  but  little  carbonate  of 
lime  entering  into  the  composition  of  their  tests,  such  as  very 
thin- shelled  irregular  urchins,  and  especially  an  abundance  of 
Holothuridea.  These  were  often  modified  in  a  singular  way ; 
the  perisom  was  reduced  to  a  mere  membrane,  and  the  stomach 
and  intestine  were  expanded  so  as  to  occupy  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  body-cavity ;  and  distended  with  the  "  diatom  ooze  "  so 
completely  that  the  animal  looked  like  a  thin  transparent  bag 
filled  with  it.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  diatoms  sink 
to  the  bottom  still  retaining  a  small  portion  of  their  organic 
matter,  which  is  slowly  extracted  by  the  alimentary  canal  of  the 
Holothurid. 

Radiolarians  were  met  with  throughout  the  whole  of  the  At- 
lantic ;  and  often  in  great  abundance,  the  sea  being  not  unfre- 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


291 


quently  slightly  discolored  by  them.  The  forms  which  oc- 
curred in  such  numbers  were  usually  species  of  the  Acantho- 
metridse ;  but  Polycystina  and  the  compound  genera  were  also 
numerous.  The  remains  of  Padiolarians  were  found  in  all  deep- 
sea  deposits,  usually  in  very  direct  proportion  to  the  numbers 
occurring  on  the  surface  and  in  intermediate  water.  It  was 
frequently  observed,  however,  that  where,  in  deep  water,  certain 
species  swarmed  on  the  surface,  very  few  of  their  skeletons 
could  be  detected  on  the  bottom.  This  applies  especially  to 
the  Acanthometridse,  and  is  probably  owing  to  the  extreme  te- 
nuity of  the  siliceous  wall  of  their  radiating  spicules,  which  may 
admit  of  their  being  dissolved  while  sinking  to  a  great  depth ;  or 
possibly  the  spicules  may  never  become  thoroughly  silicified,  but 
may  retain  permanently  more  or  less  the  condition  of  acanthin. 
The  Polycystina  seem  much  less  destructible,  and  occur  in  abun- 
dance on  the  bottom  at  the  greatest  depths.  Although  the  Pa- 
diolaria  are  universally  distributed — like  the  Diatoms,  but  in  a 
less  marked  degree — they  seem  to  be  most  numerous  where  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  water  is  low;  they  specially  swarm  in 
the  warm  and  comparatively  still  region  of  the  South-western 
Pacific  and  among  the  islands  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,  where 
they  are  much  more  abundant  than  in  any  part  of  the  Atlantic. 
I  have  already  given  the  reasons  which  led  us  to  the  belief  that 
Radiolarians  inhabit  the  water  of  the  ocean  throughout  its  en- 
tire depth,  or,  at  all  events,  its  upper  and  lower  portions. 

In  the  investigations  with  the  towing-net,  made  by  Mr.  Mur- 
ray during  the  latter  part  of  the  cruise — at  all  depths,  the  nets, 
being  either  sent  down  independently  to  the  depths  required, 
or  attached  to  the  dredge  or  trawl-rope — about  thirty  species  or 
more  were  procured  of  a  beautiful  group  of  minute  forms  ap- 
proaching, but  in  many  important  points  differing  from,  the 
Radiolarians.  This  order  have  apparently  hitherto  escaped  ob- 
servation, and  I  retain  for  the  type  genus  the  name  Chal- 
lengeria,  and  for  the  order  that  of  "  Challengerida."  This 


292 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


appears  to  be  the  only  new  group  of  higher  than  generic  value 
which  has  come  to  light  during  the  Challenger  expedition. 

As  a  rule,  these  forms  are  extremely  mi- 
nute, although  some  of  them  approach  in  size 
the  smaller  Eadiolarians.  They  consist  usu- 
ally of  a  single  chamber  of  silica,  varying 
greatly  in  form,  sometimes  triangular,  some- 
times lenticular,  and  frequently  nearly  glob- 
ular or  flask-shaped ;  with  a  single  opening, 
usually  guarded  by  a  beautifully  formed  and 
frequently  highly  ornamented  lip.  The  sur- 
face of  the  shell  is  usually  richly  sculptured, 
^^SETS  a  favorite  style  of  ornament  being  a  series 
natural  size.  0f  closely  apposed  and  symmetrically  ar- 

ranged circular  pits  sunk  deep  in  the  siliceous  wall,  their  inner 
walls  refracting  the  light,  and  giving  the  surface  of  the  whole 
a  peculiar  pearly  lustre.  The  contents  of  the  shell  consist  of  a 
mass  of  granular  sarcode,  with  one  or  more  large,  well-defined 


Fig.  59.— Forms  of  the  Challengerida. 


granular  nuclei,  which  color  deeply  with  carmine ;  and  a  num- 
ber of  dark-brown,  sometimes  nearly  black,  rounded  compound 
granular  masses.    It  is  singular  that  these  deeply  pigmented 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


293 


spheres,  which  probably  represent  the  spheres  of  a  lighter  color 
which  we  find  in  all  the  surface  rhizopods,  seem  to  be  special- 
ly characteristic  of  rhizopods  from  deep  water,  being  found 
also  in  the  Eadiolarians  from  the  deep  tow-nets.  The  Challen- 
gerida  were  never  met  with  on  the  surface ;  they  were  taken 
rarely  in  tow-nets  sunk  to  depths  of  300  and  400  fathoms ;  and 
they  were  most  abundant  when  the  tow-nets  were  sent  down 
on  the  dredge  or  trawl  rope  to  much  greater  depths.  Their  dis- 
tribution seems  to  have  a  wide  extension ;  they  are  occasionally 
found  in  the  bottom  deposits,  but  rarely,  probably  on  account 
of  their  small  size  and  the  extreme  tenuity  of  their  tests,  which 
renders  them  liable  to  solution  in  sea-water.  The  Challenge- 
rida  are  essentially  rhizopods  with  monothalamous  siliceous 
shells ;  and  their  zoological  position  may  be  not  very  far  from 
such  forms  as  Gromia. 

The  distribution  of  the  pelagic  Foraminifera  has  already 
been  discussed.  They  are  universally  distributed  throughout 
the  temperate  and  warmer  seas,  diminishing  in  number  and  de- 
creasing in  size  toward  the  frigid  zones.  Certain  species  are 
occasionally  found  in  large  numbers  on  the  surface,  but  at  a 
depth  of  a  few  fathoms  their  occurrence  is  much  more  certain. 
We  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  vertical  range  of  the 
oceanic  group  does  not  extend  beyond  the  first  few  hundred 
fathoms,  and  that  all  the  pelagic  forms  occur  occasionally  on 
the  surface.  Living  Foraminifera  are  very  generally  distrib- 
uted on  the  bottom,  but  the  forms  differ  from  those  found  on 
the  surface  and  near  it,  and  are  for  the  most  part  to  be  referred 
to  arenaceous  or  imperforate  types. 

Sponges  extend  to  all  depths,  but  perhaps  the  class  attains 
its  maximum  development  between  500  and  1000  fathoms.  All 
the  orders  occur  in  the  abyssal  zone,  except  the  Calcarea,  which 
seem  to  be  confined  to  shallow  water.  At  great  depths  the 
Hexactinellidse  certainly  preponderate ;  and  next  to  these  per- 
haps the  Esperiadse,  the  Geodidse,  and  the  Lithistidae.  The 


294 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


ordinary  horny  and  halichondroid  forms,  although  they  have 
a  considerable  vertical  range,  are  most  abundant  in  the  coral- 
line zone.  In  the  Atlantic,  hexactinellid  sponges  are  very 
abundant  to  depths  of  about  a  thousand  fathoms  along  the 
coasts  of  Portugal  and  Brazil.  These  forms,  which  occur  in 
the  fossil  state  in  the  earlier  Paleozoic  rocks,  and,  represented 
by  the  VentriculidsG  and  allied  families,  abound  in  the  chalk 
and  greensand,  show  in  a  marked  degree  the  wide  extension  in 
space  at  the  present  day  of  a  very  uniform  abyssal  fauna,  the 
same  or  very  similar  species  of  the  genera  Aphrocallistes,  Far- 
rea,  Uyalonema,  Euplectella,  Holtenia,  and  Rossella  being  appar- 
ently cosmopolite.  Nearly  all  the  deep-sea  sponges  of  all  or- 
ders are  stalked,  or  provided  with  beards  or  fringes  of  radiating 
spicules,  or  otherwise  supplied  with  means  of  supporting  them- 
selves above  the  surface  of  the  soft  ooze  in  which  they  grow. 

Among  the  Coelenterata  the  Hydrozoa  are  not  very  fully 
represented  at  great  depths.  To  this  rule,  however,  some  sin- 
gular exceptions  occur.  In  many  of  our  deepest  dredgings, 
where  there  was  a  great  lack  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  animal 
life  appeared  to  be  very  scarce,  the  curved  horny  tubes  of  what 
is  probably  a  species  of  the  genus  St&phomoscyphus  was  found 
adhering  to  the  ear-bones  of  whales  or  to  concretions  of  iron 
and  manganese ;  and  on  two  occasions  in  the  North  Pacific,  at 
depths  of  1875  and  2900  fathoms,  we  captured  a  giant  of  the 
class,  a  species  of  Monocaulus  with  a  stem  upward  of  two  me- 
tres long,  and  a  head  three  or  four  decimetres  across  the  crown 
of  extended  tentacles. 

True  corals  referable  to  the  Madreporaria  are  not  abundant 
in  deep  water.  According  to  Mr.  Moseley's  report,  about  ten 
genera  reach  a  depth  of  1000  fathoms ;  four  genera  are  found 
at  1500  fathoms ;  and  a  single  species  extends  practically  through 
all  depths,  ranging  from  30  to  2900  fathoms.  In  the  Atlantic 
especially  deep-sea  corals  are  sparsely  scattered :  two  or  three 
species  of  the  genus  Caryophyllia  are  among  the  most  com- 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


295 


mon,  and  Deltocyathus  Agassizii,  and  one  or  two  species  of  the 
genus  Oeratotroehus,  were  frequently  met  with  near  the  Amer- 


Fig.  60.— Flabellum  apertum,  Moseley.  Natural  size. 

ican  coast  and  in  the  Gulf -stream  region.  Besides  Flabellum 
alabastrum — the  fine  species  already  described  from  the  Acores 
— Flabellum  apertum  (Fig.  60),  a  form  with  a  wide  geograph- 
ical range,  occurred  oif  the  coast 
of  Portugal ;  and  a  very  delicate  lit- 
tle species,  named  by  Mr.  Moseley 
Flabellum  angulare  (Fig.  61),  was 
dredged  on  one  occasion  only,  not 
far  from  the  fishing-banks  of  Nova 
Scotia,  at  a  depth  of  1250  fathoms. 
The  special  peculiarity  of  this  spe- 
cies, if  the  individual  which  we  pro- 
cured be  not  abnormal,  is  its  regu- 
larly pentagonal  form  and  the  per- 
fect quinary  arrangement  of  its 
parts;  it  has  exactly  40  septa — 10 
primary  and  secondary,  10  tertiary, 
and  20  quaternary.  Species  of  Lo- 
phohelia  and  of  Amphihelia  were  FlG-  ^—Fiaieiium  angulare,  moseley. 

Natural  size. 

generally  distributed  at  comparative- 
ly moderate  depths,  and  the  cosmopolitan  Fungia  symmetrica 
occurred  in  small  number  at  all  depths.    The  deep-sea  corals 


296 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


are  mostly  simple  and  solitary,  and  the  greater  number  belong 
to  the  Turbinolidse :  nearly  all  the  genera  pass  back  to  Tertiary, 
and  a  few  to  Mesozoic  times.  Upon  the  whole,  the  corals  must 
undoubtedly  be  regarded  as  affording  evidence  of  a  certain  re- 
lation between  the  deep-sea  fauna  of  the  present  day  and  the 
fauna  of  shallower  water  during  the  deposition  of  at  all  events 
some  portions  of  the  Tertiary  series. 

Attached  Alcyonarians,  and  especially  genera  allied  to  Mop- 
sea  and  Primnoa,  are  extremely  abundant  in  the  cooler  seas  at 
depths  from  500  to  1000  fathoms,  sometimes  occurring  in  such 
quantity  as  to  hamper  and  clog  the  trawl,  and  affording  charm- 
ing exhibitions  of  elegance  of  form  and  beauty  of  coloring. 
Certain  forms  of  the  Pennatulidse  go  down  to  great  depths: 
the  genus  Umbellula,  which  we  at  first  regarded  as  of  extreme 
rarity,  turned  up  every  now  and  then,  usually  in  nearly  the 
deepest  hauls,  represented  by  two  or  three  nearly  allied  species. 

Among  the  Echinodermata  the  stalked  crinoids  of  the  deep- 
sea  fauna  are  most  interesting,  but  they  are  comparatively  few 
in  number.  The  large  forms  belonging  to  the  Pentacrinidse, 
although  they  are  very  local,  appear  to  be  more  common  than 
has  been  hitherto  supposed  at  depths  of  from  three  to  five  hun- 
dred fathoms.  Five  or  six  new  species  have  been  added  to  the 
meagre  list,  but  most  of  these  are  from  the  South-western  Pa- 
cific, and  do  not  enter  into  the  Atlantic  fauna.  The  Apiocrini- 
dse,  represented  by  the  genera  Wiizocrinus,  Bathycrinus,  and 
Ilyocrinus,  which  are  of  so  great  interest  as  the  last  survivors 
of  a  large  and  important  order,  are  rare  prizes  at  much  greater 
depths.  Representatives  of  all  the  three  genera  were  dredged 
in  deep  water  in  the  South  Atlantic. 

Ophiuridea,  many  of  them  referable  with  the  common  sand 
brittle-star  to  the  genus  Ophioglypha,  and  many  others  to  the 
closely  allied  genus  Ophiomusium,  came  up  from  the  greatest 
depths,  and,  particularly  in  the  North  Atlantic,  formed  a  prom- 
inent feature  in  the  fauna.    Asteridea,  principally  represented 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


297 


by  forms  more  or  less  nearly  allied  to  Astropeeten,  Astrogonium, 
Archaster,  Pteraster,  and  Hymenaster,  abounded  at  all  more 
moderate  depths;  and  the  singular  aberrant  genus  Brisinga 
was  found  universally  from  the  coast  of  Labrador  to  the  Ant- 
arctic ice -barrier,  at  all  depths,  from  400  to  3000  fathoms,  the 
trawl  rarely  coming  up  from  deep  water  without  some  frag- 
ments of  its  fragile  arms. 

The  novel  forms  of  sea-urchins,  regular  and  irregular,  are 
numerous  and  highly  interesting,  especially  in  their  paleonto- 
logical  aspect.  Species  of  the  genera  Porocidaris  and  Salenia 
occur  not  unfrequently,  and  the  curious  flexible  Echinothuridse 
have  assumed  the  proportions  of  an  important  family.  Among 
the  irregular  urchins  the  relation  between  the  modern  abyssal 
fauna  and  the  fauna  of  the  later  Mesozoic  beds  is  even  more 
marked.  A  number  of  genera  hitherto  undescribed  associate 
themselves  with  the  chalk  genus  Tnfulaster,  while  others  And 
their  nearest  allies  in  Micraster  and  Ananchytes. 

The  Holothuridea  are  very  generally  distributed  down  to 
the  greatest  depths ;  and  are  represented  in  deep  water  by  a 
peculiar  series  allied  to  P solus,  with  a  very  distinct  ambulatory 
disk,  very  frequently  a  great  develojmient  of  calcified  tissue 
in  the  perisom,  and  frequently  symmetrical  series  of  long  tubu- 
lar appendages  along  the  back  and  sides.  These  Holothurice, 
.  which  are  among  the  most  characteristic  of  the  abyssal  forms, 
have  not  yet  been  critically  examined. 

Polyzoa  were  found  at  all  depths :  some  extremely  beauti- 
ful and  delicate  forms,  referred  principally  to  the  Bicellariadse 
and  to  the  Salicornariadae,  occurred  at  depths  between  2000 
and  3000  fathoms  in  sterile  regions  where  other  animal  life 
was  scarce. 

The  G-ephyrea  yielded  a  few  interesting  undescribed  forms. 
Annelids  were  not  abundant  at  great  depths ;  but  on  one  or 
two  occasions — as,  for  example,  at  Station  XIX.,  on  the  section 
between  Teneriffe  and  Sombrero — their  occurrence  was  of  spe- 
II.— 20 


298 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


cial  interest,  for  they  seemed  to  be  almost  the  sole  inhabitants 
of  red  clay  from  which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  carbonate  of 
lime  had  been  removed. 

The  various  orders  of  Crustacea  form  a  most  interesting  and 
important  element  in  the  ocean  fauna.  The  pedunculated  Cir- 
ripedia  seem  to  be  universally  distributed  in  comparatively 
small  numbers  even  at  the  greatest  depths,  where  some  of  the 
abyssal  species  are  larger  and  more  highly  ornamented  than 
those  previously  known  from  shallow  wTater.  Some  of  the 
finest  additions  to  our  knowledge  of  species  were  made  among 
the  Schizopoda,  in  colossal  forms  of  the  genera  Gnathophausia 
and  Petalophthalmus. 

The  macrourous  Decapods  were  very  many,  and  included 
some  splendid  im described  species,  especially  among  thePeneid 
and  Caridid  shrimps.  There  was  often,  however,  some  slight 
doubt  whether  these  forms  lived  actually  on  the  bottom :  we 
had  good  evidence  that  they  lived  near  the  bottom,  but  in  sev- 
eral instances  shrimps  were  captured  when  we  had  reason  to 
suspect  that  the  trawl  had  been  buoyed  up,  and  had  never  act- 
ually touched  the  ground.  Galathece  were  frequent  to  great 
depths,  but  brachyourous  Decapods  appear  to  be  confined  al- 
most entirely  to  comparatively  shallow  water. 

The  Pycnogonida  occurred  frequently,  and  attained  an  enor- 
mous size  in  cold  Arctic  and  Antarctic  water  at  medium  depths. 
The  Brachiopoda  we  found  widely  distributed,  but  by  no  means 
numerous  either  as  to  species  or  individuals.  On  one  or  two 
occasions,  in  the  Porcupine,  we  got  fine  hauls  of  TerebraUila 
cranium  and  T.  septata  attached  to  the  pebbles  of  a  gravel  of 
the  volcanic  rocks  of  the  Faroes,  and  we  took  one  or  two  other 
species  with  the  conditions  almost  repeated  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Heard  Islands  and  the  Crozets  in  the  Southern  Sea. 

The  two  great  modern  groups  of  the  Mollusca,  the  Lamel- 
libranchiata  and  the  Gastropoda,  do  not  enter  largely  into  the 
fauna  of  the  deep  sea.    Species  of  both  groups,  usually  small 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCL  USIONS. 


299 


and  apparently  stunted,  were  widely  though  sparsely  diffused, 
and  exceptionally  a  large  and  handsome  form  occurred,  as,  for 
example,  a  singularly  beautiful  volute  in  1600  fathoms  at  Sta- 
tion CXLVTL,  in  the  Southern  Sea ;  some  line  species  of  Mar- 
garita in  1260  and  1675  fathoms  south  of  Kerguelen ;  and  a 
large  bivalve,  allied  to  Lima,  which  turned  up  in  deep  dredg- 
ings  at  rare  intervals  at  stations  the  most  widely  separated  in 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific. 

Cephalopods  came  up  in  the  trawl  occasionally,  but  in  most 
cases  they  belonged  to  the  peculiar  gelatinous  group  which  are 
well  known  to  be  pelagic,  and  had  doubtless  been  taken  while 
the  trawl  was  passing  through  the  upper  water.  In  some  few 
cases  species  had  evidently  come  from  the  bottom,  but  not  from 
any  great  depth.  It  is  singular  that  only  on  one  occasion  we 
took  a  specimen  of  the  animal  of  Spirula,  although  the  delicate 
little  white  coiled  shell  is  one  of  the  commonest  objects  on  the 
beach  throughout  the  tropics — sometimes  washed  up  in  a  long 
white  line  which  can  be  seen  from  any  distance. 

After  the  method  of  dredging  with  the  trawl  was  intro- 
duced, one  or  two  or  more  fishes  were  taken  at  almost  every 
haul,  showing  that,  while  not  abundant,  they  were  universally 
present.  "With  these,  however,  as  with  the  decapod  Crusta- 
ceans, the  question  often  arose  whether  the  specimen  had  been 
brought  up  from  the  bottom,  or  had  been  taken  by  the  trawl 
on  its  way  up.  In  many  cases  this  could  not  be  answered  with 
certainty ;  but  it  seems  that  certain  families  which  are  met  with 
very  frequently — such  as  the  Sternoptychidse  and  the  Scopeli- 
dse,  many  of  them  remarkable  for  their  grotesque  forms,  their 
brilliant  coloring,  and  metallic  lustre,  and  the  symmetrical  rows 
of  deeply  pigmented  sense  or  phosphorescent  organs  which 
sometimes  extend  along  the  greater  part  of  the  body  (Fig.  62) 
— are  in  most,  if  not  all,  cases  from  the  upper  waters ;  while 
certain  other  families  —  for  example,  the  Ophidiidse  and  the 
Macruridse — live  at  or  near  the  bottom.    What  we  know  of 


300 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


the  distribution  of  fishes  seems  to  me  to  corroborate  the  view 
that  in  a  deep-sea  vertical  section  there  are  two  regions — one 


Pig.  62. — Chauliodus  Sloanii.   From  the  upper  water.   One  third  the  natural  size. 


within  a  limited  distance  of  the  surface,  and  the  other  a  little 
way  above  the  bottom — which  have  their  special  faunae ;  while 
the  zone  between  is  destitute  of,  at  all  events,  the  higher  forms 
of  animal  life. 

In  some  places,  both  in  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  especially 
at  extreme  depths  in  the  red-clay  arese,  the  trawl  brought  up 
many  teeth  of  sharks  and  ear-bones  of  whales,  all  in  a  semi-fos- 
sil state,  and  usually  strongly  impregnated  with,  or  their  sub- 
stance to  a  great  extent  replaced  by,  the  oxides  of  iron  and  man- 
ganese. These  deposits  of  bones  occur  at  great  distances  from 
land,  and  where  from  other  causes  the  deposition  of  sediment 
is  taking  place  with  extreme  slowness.  The  sharks'  teeth  be- 
long principally  to  genera,  and  often  to  species,  which  we  believe 
to  be  now  extinct,  and  which  are  characteristic  of  the  later  Ter- 
tiary formations ;  and  there  seems  little  doubt  that  they  have 
been  lying  there,  becoming  gradually  buried  in  the  slowly  ac- 
cumulating sediment,  from  Tertiary  times.  The  fishes  which 
were  collected  during  the  expedition  are  now  undergoing  ex- 
amination by  Dr.  G-iinther,  and  the  semi-fossil  remains  from  the 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


301 


sea-bottom  by  Mr.  Murray ;  and  several  questions  of  great  inter- 
est must  be  left  open  until  tlieir  investigations  are  completed. 

The  first  general  survey  of  the  deep-sea  collections,  under- 
taken with  a  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
specimens  were  procured,  justify  us,  I  believe,  in  arriving  at  the 
following  general  conclusions : 

1.  Animal  life  is  present  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  at  all 
depths. 

2.  Animal  life  is  not  nearly  so  abundant  at  extreme  as  it  is 
at  more  moderate  depths;  but  as  well-developed  members  of 
all  the  marine  invertebrate  classes  occur  at  all  depths,  this  ap- 
pears to  depend  more  upon  certain  causes  affecting  the  compo- 
sition of  the  bottom  deposits,  and  of  the  bottom-water  involving 
the  supply  of  oxygen,  and  of  carbonate  of  lime,  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  other  materials  necessary  for  their  development,  than 
upon  any  of  the  conditions  immediately  connected  with  depth. 

3.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  fauna  of  deep 
water  is  confined  principally  to  two  belts,  one  at  and  near  the 
surface,  and  the  other  on  and  near  the  bottom ;  leaving  an  in- 
termediate zone  in  which  the  larger  animal  forms,  vertebrate 
and  invertebrate,  are  nearly  or  entirely  absent. 

4.  Although  all  the  principal  marine  invertebrate  groups  are 
represented  in  the  abyssal  fauna,  the  relative  proportion  in 
which  they  occur  is  peculiar.  Thus,  Mollusca  in  all  their  class- 
es, brachyourous  Crustacea,  and  Annelida,  are,  on  the  whole, 
scarce ;  while  Echinodermata  and  Porif  era  greatly  preponder- 
ate. 

5.  Depths  beyond  500  fathoms  are  inhabited  throughout  the 
world  by  a  fauna  which  presents  generally  the  same  features 
throughout.  Deep-sea  genera  have  usually  a  cosmopolitan  ex- 
tension, while  species  are  either  universally  distributed,  or,  if 
they  differ  in  remote  localities,  they  are  markedly  representa- 
tive ;  that  is  to  say,  they  bear  to  one  another  a  close  genetic 
relation. 


302 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


6.  The  abyssal  fauna  is  certainly  more  nearly  related  than  the 
fauna  of  shallower  water  to  the  faunae  of  the  Tertiary  and  Sec- 
ondary periods,  although  this  relation  is  not  so  close  as  we  were 
at  first  inclined  to  expect,  and  only  a  comparatively  small  num- 
ber of  types  supposed  to  have  become  extinct  have  yet  been 
discovered. 

7.  The  most  characteristic  abyssal  forms,  and  those  which  are 
most  nearly  related  to  extinct  types,  seem  to  occur  in  greatest 
abundance  and  of  largest  size  in  the  Southern  Ocean ;  and  the 
general  character  of  the  faunae  of  the  Atlantic  and  of  the  Pa- 
cific gives  the  impression  that  the  migration  of  species  has  taken 
place  in  a  northerly  direction,  that  is  to  say,  in  a  direction  cor- 
responding with  the  movement  of  the  cold  under-current. 

8.  The  general  character  of  the  abyssal  fauna  resembles  most 
that  of  the  shallower  water  of  high  northern  and  southern  lati- 
tudes, no  doubt  because  the  conditions  of  temperature,  on  which 
the  distribution  of  animals  mainly  depends,  are  nearly  similar. 

The  Density  of  Sea-water. — The  specific  gravity  of  the  sur- 
face-water was  determined  daily  by  Mr.  J.  Y.  Buchanan,  the 
chemist  to  the  expedition,  with  great  accuracy ;  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  bottom- water  was  also  determined  so  far  as  pos- 
sible at  every  observing  station,  and  every  opportunity  was 
taken  to  procure  for  physical  and  chemical  examination  sam- 
ples of  water  from  intermediate  depths.  On  our  return  home 
through  the  Pacific,  Mr.  Buchanan,  at  my  request,  prepared  a 
preliminary  report  on  his  method  of  investigation  and  on  the 
general  results  of  his  work,  which  I  received  at  Valparaiso ; 
and  from  that  report  the  following  summary  of  specific-gravity 
conditions  in  the  Atlantic,  according  to  the  first  year's  obser- 
vations, is  taken.  The  apparatus  in  use  for  procuring  water 
from  the  bottom  and  from  intermediate  depths  has  been  already 
described  (vol.  i.,  p.  51  et  seq.). 

Representing  the  specific  gravity  of  distilled  water  at  4°  C. 
by  100,000,  Mr.  Buchanan  found  that  of  ocean-water  at  15°*56 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


303 


C.  to  vary  between  the  extremes  of  102780  and  102400;  so 
that,  to  be  of  any  value  at  all,  the  possible  error  in  the  results 
must  not  exceed  10.  The  hydrometer  used  for  these  observa- 
tions is  fully  described  in  a  paper  presented  to  the  Royal  Soci- 
ety by  Mr.  Buchanan  early  in  1875,  and  published  in  abstract 
in  the  "  Proceedings  "  for  that  year.  Its  description  is  briefly 
as  follows : 

The  stem,  which  carries  a  millimetre-scale  10  centimetres  long, 
has  an  outside  diameter  of  about  3  millimetres,  the  external  vol- 
ume of  the  divided  portion  being  0*8607  cubic  centimetre ;  the 
mean  volume  of  the  body  is  160*15  cubic  centimetres,  and  the 
weight  of  the  glass  instrument  is  160*0405  grammes.  With 
this  volume  and  weight  it  floats  in  distilled  water  of  16°  C,  at 
about  the  lowest  division  (100)  of  the  scale.  In  order  to  make 
it  serviceable  for  heavier  waters,  a  small  brass  table  is  made  to 
rest  on  the  top  of  the  stem,  of  such  a  weight  that  it  depresses 
the  instrument  in  distilled  water  of  16°  C.  to  about  the  topmost 
division  (0)  of  the  scale.  By  means  of  a  series  of  six  weights, 
multiples  by  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  6  of  the  weight  of  the  table,  spe- 
cific gravities  between  1*00000  and  1*03400  can  be  observed.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  these  weights  should  be  accurate  multiples 
of  the  weight  of  the  table ;  it  is  sufficient  if  they  approach  it 
within  a  centigramme,  and  their  actual  weight  be  known  with  ac- 
curacy.   The  weights  of  the  table  and  weights  in  actual  use  are : 

Weight  of  table   0-8360  gramme. 

"     of  weight  No.    1   0-8560  " 

"  "  II   1-6010 

"  "  III   2-4225  grammes. 

IV   31245 

"  V   4 -07 10 

VI   4-8245 

For  ocean-waters  the  hydrometer  is  always  used  with  the  table 
and  either  No.  IV.  or  No.  Y.  weight. 

When  the  mechanical  part  of  the  construction  of  the  instru- 
ment was  finished,  with  the  exception  of  the  closing  of  the  top 


304 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAP.  v. 


of  the  stem  (which  instead  was  widened  into  a  funnel -shape 
large  enough  to  receive  the  ordinary  decigramme  weights),  the 
calibration  of  the  stem  was  effected  by  loading  the  stem  with 
successive  weights,  and  observing  the  consequent  depressions 
in  distilled  water  of  known  temperature.  This  done,  the  top 
was  sealed  up  and  the  instrument  carefully  weighed.  The  ex- 
pansion of  the  body  with  temperature  was  determined  in  a 
similar  manner  by  reading  the  instrument  in  distilled  water 
of  various  temperatures.  The  co-efficient  of  expansion  of  the 
glass  was  then  found  to  be  0*000029  per  degree  centigrade. 

For  using  this  instrument  at  sea  about  900  cubic  centimetres 
of  sea-water  are  taken,  and  the  containing  cylinder  placed  on 
a  swinging  table  in  a  position  as  near  the  centre  of  the  ship  as 
possible.  The  observation  with  the  hydrometer,  loaded  with 
the  necessary  table  and  weight,  is  then  effected  in  the  ordinary 
way,  the  accuracy  of  the  readings  being  but  little  affected  by 
rolling.  Pitching,  however,  is  found  to  have  a  distinctly  dis- 
turbing effect ;  and  when  it  is  in  any  way  violent,  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  store  the  specimen  of  water  till  the  weather  improves. 

The  temperature  of  the  water  at  the  time  of  observation  is 
determined  by  one  of  Geissler's  "  normal "  or  standard  ther- 
mometers, graduated  into  tenths  of  a  degree  centigrade  ;  and 
it  is  essential  for  the  accuracy  of  the  results  that  the  water, 
during  the  observation  of  the  hydrometer,  should  be  sensibly 
at  the  same  temperature  as  the  atmosphere,  otherwise  the  chang- 
ing temperature  of  the  water  makes  the  readings  of  both  the 
hydrometer  and  the  thermometer  uncertain.  At  low  tempera- 
tures (below  10°  or  12°  C.)  a  tenth  of  a  degree  makes  no  sensi- 
ble difference  in  the  resulting  specific  gravity ;  but  at  the  high 
temperatures  always  found  at  the  surface  of  tropical  seas,  ris- 
ing sometimes  to  30°  C,  the  same  difference  of  temperature 
may  make  a  difference  of  3  to  4  in  the  resulting  specific  gravity. 

Having  obtained  the  specific  gravity  of  the  water  in  ques- 
tion at  a  temperature  which  depends  upon  that  of  the  air  at 


CHAP.  V.J 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


305 


the  time,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  that  the  results  may  be  com- 
parable, to  reduce  them  to  their  values  at  one  common  temper- 
ature. For  this  purpose  a  knowledge  of  the  law  of  expansion 
of  sea-water  with  temperature  is  necessary.  This  had  been  de- 
termined with  sufficient  accuracy  for  low  temperatures  by  Des- 
pretz  and  others ;  but  as  the  temperatures  at  which  specific- 
gravity  observations  are  usually  made  are  comparatively  high, 
their  results  were  of  but  little  use,  directed  as  they  were  chiefly 
to  the  determination  of  the  freezing  and  maximum -density 
points.  When  the  late  Captain  Maury  was  developing  his 
theory  of  oceanic  circulation,  owing  to  difference  of  density 
of  the  water  in  its  different  parts,  he  found  the  want  of  infor- 
mation on  this  important  subject.  At  his  request  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Hubbard,  of  the  National  Observatory,  United  States, 
instituted  a  series  of  experiments,  from  which  he  was  enabied 
to  lay  down  a  curve  of  the  volumes  of  sea-wTater  at  all  tempera- 
tures from  considerably  below  the  freezing-point  to  much  above 
what  obtains  even  in  the  hottest  seas.  The  results  are  published 
in  Maury's  "Sailing  Directions,"  1858,  vol.  i.,  p.  237,  and  have 
evidently  been  carried  out  with  great  care.  The  composition 
of  different  oceanic  waters  varies,  even  in  extreme  cases,  within 
such  close  limits,  that  the  law  of  thermal  expansion  is  sensibly 
the  same  for  all  of  them  :  of  this  Hubbard's  experiments  afford 
satisfactory  proof.  In  the  table  which  gives  the  results  of  all  his 
experiments,  he  takes  the  volume  of  wrater  at  60°  F.  as  his  unit. 

In  the  following  table  the  volumes  for  every  centigrade  de- 
gree from  —1°  C.  to  +30°  C.  are  given : 


Temp.  °  C. 

Volume. 

Temp.  °  C. 

Volume. 

Temp.  °  C. 

Volume. 

Temp.  °  C. 

Volume. 

-1 

0-99792 

+  7 

0-99853 

+  15 

0-99987 

+  23 

1-00194 

0 

795 

8 

866 

16 

1-00010 

24 

224 

+  1 

799 

9 

878 

17 

034 

25 

256 

2 

804 

10 

893 

18 

059 

26 

288 

3 

812 

11 

910 

19 

086 

27 

320 

4 

820 

12 

927 

20 

111 

28 

352 

5 

830 

13 

947 

21 

137 

29 

385 

6 

840 

14 

967 

22 

164 

30 

420 

306 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


The  results  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  observations  are  given  for 
each  section  in  tables  forming  Appendices  to  the  several  chap- 
ters. In  these  tables  the  specific  gravity  is  given  at  the  tem- 
perature at  which  the  determination  was  made ;  at  the  temper- 
ature reduced  to  15°*56  C. ;  and  at  the  temperature  which  it 
had  in  the  position  in  the  ocean  from  which  it  was  taken — the 
specific  gravity  of  distilled  water  at  4°  C.  being  retained  as  the 
unit. 

With  a  single  exception,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  the  densest 
water  which  we  have  met  with  in  the  ocean  was  found  on  the 
section  from  Teneriffe  to  St.  Thomas  in  the  heart  of  the  north- 
east trade-wind  territory,  where,  from  the  strength  and  dryness 
of  the  wind,  the  amount  of  evaporation  must  be  very  large. 
Round  about  the  Canary  Islands  the  mean  specific  gravity  was 
found  to  be  1*02730;  to  the  westward  it  rises  steadily  until  in 
long.  28°  W.  it  has  reached  1-02762.  Between  long.  28°  W.  and 
54°  W.  the  mean  specific  gravity  is  1*02773,  the  maximum  be- 
ing 1-02781.  On  approaching  the  West  Indies,  it  rapidly  falls 
off  to  an  average  of  1-02719  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Thom- 
as ;  and  if  we  take  into  account  all  the  observations  made  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic,  from  St.  Thomas  northward 
to  the  edge  of  the  cold  water  which  separates  the  Gulf-stream 
from  the  coast  of  America,  we  obtain  the  same  average,  1*02719. 
Between  Bermudas  and  the  Acores  an  almost  perfectly  uniform 
specific  gravity  was  observed,  the  mean  being  1*02713,  and  the 
extremes  1-02694  and  1*02727.  As  Madeira  is  approached,  the 
specific  gravity  rises  until  it  reaches  1*02746  close  to  the  island 
itself.  The  mean  specific  gravity  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
North  Atlantic,  between  the  latitude  of  St.  Thomas  and  that 
of  the  Acores,  is  1*02727,  or  slightly  higher  than  that  of  the 
water  on  the  western  side. 

After  leaving  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  the  ship's  course  lay 
almost  parallel  to  the  African  coast,  and  at  an  average  distance 
of  about  200  miles  from  it.    Proceeding  thus  in  a  south-easterly 


Barometer 


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CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCL  US  J  ONS. 


307 


direction,  the  specific  gravity  fell  rapidly  from  1-02692  off  St. 
Iago  on  the  10th  of  August  to  1-02632  on  the  12th,  after  which 
it  retained  the  low  mean  specific  gravity  of  1-02627  until  the 
21st  of  August,  when  the  course  was  changed  to  a  westerly  one 
along  the  equator.  The  specific  gravity  of  the  water  on  this 
day  was  the  lowest  hitherto  registered  for  a  surface-water ;  it 
was  1*02601,  in  lat.  3°  8'  N.,  and  on  the  boundary-line  between 
the  equatorial  and  Guinea  currents.  The  same  low  specific 
gravity  was  observed  in  following  the  equatorial  current  as  far 
as  St.  Paul's  Hocks,  after  which  it  quickly  rose  as  the  Brazilian 
coast  was  approached;  and  the  maximum  of  1*02786  was  ob- 
tained on  the  26th  of  September,  when  off  the  entrance  to 
Bahia,  in  lat.  13°  4'  S. 

The  observations  in  the  South  Atlantic  were  limited  to  a  line 
down  the  western  side  as  far  as  the  Abrolhos  Bank,  and  thence 
across  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  In  the  region  of  the  south- 
east trade- wind,  therefore,  we  have  only  a  few  observations  close 
to  the  coast ;  and  as  we  have  seen  in  the  North  Atlantic,  on  the 
voyage  from  Teneriffe  to  St.  Thomas,  the  specific  gravity  is 
higher  in  mid-ocean  than  either  on  the  east  or  the  west  side,  so 
in  the  South  Atlantic  it  is  possible  that  the  same  may  hold  good. 
From  the  Abrolhos  Bank  to  Tristan  d'Acunha  the  specific  grav- 
ity sinks  steadily  from  1-02785  to  1*02606,  and  from  Tristan  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  along  a  course  lying  between  the  35th 
and  the  37th  parallels  of  south  latitude,  the  mean  specific  grav- 
ity was  1*02624.  Between  the  same  parallels  of  north  latitude 
the  mean  specific  gravity  wTas  1*02713. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  results  obtained  can  only  be 
held  good  for  the  season  of  the  year  in  which  they  were  ob- 
served, and  that  the  observations  in  different  latitudes  were 
made  in  different  seasons ;  and,  further,  that  all  the  observations 
north  of  the  line  as  far  as  20°  N".  were  obtained  on  the  eastern 
side;  and  those  to  the  southward  of  it  as  far  as  30°  S.  were  ob- 
tained on  the  western  side  of  the  ocean ;  so  that  it  would  be 


308 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


unwise  to  attempt  to  draw  any  general  conclusions  from  such 
imperfect  data.  Considering,  however,  our  four  parallel  sec- 
tions, we  have  at  least  this  positive  result — that  in  the  month 
of  June  and  mean  lat.  36°  N.  the  surface-water  in  mid-ocean 
has  a  mean  specific  gravity  of  1-02712;  that  in  the  months 
of  February  and  March  and  mean  lat.  22°  N.  the  mean  surface 
specific  gravity  is  1*02773 ;  that  in  the  month  of  August  and 
mean  lat.  2°  N.  it  is  1-02624 ;  and  that  in  the  month  of  October 
in  mean  lat.  36'  S.  it  is  1-02621. 

On  the  way  to  and  from  Halifax,  in  the  month  of  May,  some 
observations  were  obtained  in  the  cold  water  with  which  the 
north-eastern  coast  of  America  is  surrounded,  the  mean  specific 
gravity  being  1-02463.  On  the  1st  of  May,  in  the  Gulf-stream, 
the  specific  gravity  of  the  water  was  1-02675,  and  its  tempera- 
ture 23°*9  C;  and  the  next  day  it  was  1*02538,  and  the  temper- 
ature 13°-3  C.  If  the  results  be  reduced  to  their  values  at  the 
respective  temperatures  of  the  different  waters,  we  have  for  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  Gulf-stream  water  1*02445,  and  of  Labra- 
dor-current water  1*02584 ;  so  that  the  fall  of  temperature  very 
much  more  than  counterbalances  the  want  of  salt  in  the  water. 
In  the  same  way  we  find  the  mean  specific  gravity  of  the  water 
referred  to  the  temperature  which  it  has  in  the  ocean  to  be,  in 
lat.  36°  K  and  month  of  June,  1*02548 ;  in  22°  K  and  months 
of  February  and  March,  1*02592 ;  in  2°  K  and  month  of  Au- 
gust, 1-02335 ;  and  in  36°  S.  and  month  of  October,  1-02659. 

From  the  determination  of  the  specific  gravity  of  intermedi- 
ate and  bottom  water,  Mr.  Buchanan  concludes  that,  as  a  gener- 
al rule,  both  in  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  oceans,  between  the 
parallels  of  40°  and  40°  S.,  the  specific  gravity  reduced  to 
15*56  C,  is  greatest  at  or  near  the  surface,  and  decreases  more 
or  less  regularly  until  a  minimum  is  reached,  generally  400  fath- 
oms from  the  surface,  whence  there  is  a  slow  rise,  the  bottom- 
water  being  slightly  heavier. 

From  Mr.  Buchanan's  report,  and  from  the  specific -gravity 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


309 


tables  of  the  year  1873,  we  come,  then,  to  the  broad  conclusion 
that  the  density  of  the  upper  layers  of  the  North  Atlantic  is 
considerably  higher  than  that  of  any  other  part  of  the  ocean, 
and  the  specific -gravity  tables  for  the  spring  months  of  1876 
give  the  same  result.  I  need  scarcely  say  that  this  is  exactly 
what  must  have  been  anticipated,  if  my  view  be  correct,  that 
the  movement  of  deep  water  in  the  Atlantic  is  mainly  due  to 
excess  of  evaporation  over  precipitation  in  its  northern  portion. 

An  element  of  great  uncertainty  is  undoubtedly  introduced 
into  the  determination  of  the  specific  gravity  of  surface-wa- 
ter by  the  weather.  These  determinations  were  made,  as  usu- 
al, daily  for  the  section  between  Stations  CCCXXIII.  and 
CCCXXXV.,  from  Montevideo  to  Tristan  d'Acunha,  in  the 
beginning  of  March,  1876;  and  the  mean  of  these,  the  tem- 
perature reduced  to  15°*56  C,  was  1*02620.  Of  the  eighteen 
days  occupied  in  running  the  section,  nine  were  dry  and  fine, 
and  on  nine  rain  fell  either  continuously  or  in  showers.  The 
mean  for  the  nine  dry  days  was  1*02639,  and  for  the  nine  wet 
days  1*02591.  The  maximum  surface  specific  gravity  for  the 
section  (1*02680)  was  at  Station  CCCXXIII.  at  the  point  where 
probably  the  Brazil  Current  has  most  effect  on  the  surface; 
and  the  minimum  (1*02494)  was  at  Station  CCCXXVI.  after  a 
heavy  fall  of  rain.  The  mean  specific  gravity  of  the  surface- 
water  at  the  temperature  at  which  it  was  procured  was  1*02502. 

The  specific  gravity  of  the  bottom-water  was  determined  at 
ten  stations  on  the  section.  Reduced  to  a  temperature  of  15°*56 
C,  the  mean  was  1*02601 ;  the  maximum,  1*02650,  was  at  Sta- 
tion CCCXXIII.  at  a  depth  of  1900  fathoms;  and  the  mini- 
mum, 1*02580,  was  at  Station  CCCXXYI.  at  2775  fathoms. 
The  mean  specific  gravity  of  the  bottom-water  at  the  depth  at 
which  it  was  procured  was  1*02811,  showing  a  difference  be- 
tween the  two  means  of  0*00210,  due  to  difference  of  tempera- 
ture alone. 

It  seems  from  these  observations  that  the  differences  of  sur- 


310 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


face  specific  gravity  due  to  differences  of  salinity  along  the 
section  are  very  small,  and  that,  with  the  exception  possibly 
of  Station  CCCXXIIL,  which  is  abnormal  in  many  respects, 
they  depend  mainly  on  the  rain-fall. 

The  difference  between  the  mean  surface  specific  gravity, 
the  temperature  reduced  to  15°-56  C,  and  the  mean  bottom 
specific  gravity  under  the  same  conditions  is  also  very  slight. 
The  actual  specific  gravity  at  every  point  is  practically  de- 
termined by  the  temperature ;  and  consequently  the  bands  of 
equal  density  are,  like  the  bands  of  equal  temperature,  virtu- 
ally continuous  with  those  of  the  Southern  Sea. 

The  Amount  of  Carbonic  Acid  contained  in  Sea -water. — I 
give  in  Appendix  C  to  this  chapter  a  table  of  carbonic  acid 
determinations  from  Mr.  Buchanan's  "  Laboratory  Work ;"  and 
the  substance  of  the  few  following  remarks  on  the  subject  is 
taken  from  his  preliminary  report  ("  Proceedings  of  the  Royal 
Society,"  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  602  et  seq.). 

The  carbonic  acid,  when  boiled  out  of  the  water,  was  received 
by  baryta-water  of  known  strength ;  its  consequent  loss  of  al- 
kalinity was  measured  by  hydrochloric  acid  of  corresponding 
strength.  Having  observed  that  the  presence  of  sulphates  in 
sea-water  is  one  of  the  potent  agents  in  the  retention  of  the 
carbonic  acid  ("  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society,"  vol.  xxii., 
p.  483  et  seq.),  Mr.  Buchanan  always  added  10  cubic  centimetres 
of  a  saturated  solution  of  chloride  of  barium  to  the  water  be- 
fore commencing  the  operation.  This  facilitates  greatly  the 
liberation  of  the  carbonic  acid,  and  also  causes  the  water  to  boil 
tranquilly,  even  to  dryness,  without  showing  any  tendency  to- 
ward bumping.  The  quantity  of  water  used  has  been  almost 
invariably  225  cubic  centimetres,  and  the  property  possessed 
by  sea -water  of  retaining  its  carbonic  acid  with  great  vigor 
makes  it  possible  to  perform  the  determination  of  it  even  a 
couple  of  days  after  its  collection. 

As  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  where  the  carbonic  acid 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


311 


has  been  determined,  the  oxygen  and  nitrogen  have  also  been 
collected,  and  have  been  preserved  until  our  return  home, 
where  they  will  shortly  be  analyzed.  It  would  be  useless  to 
attempt  to  discuss  the  results  of  the  carbonic  acid  determina- 
tions at  present,  and  before  these  analyses  have  been  made, 
especially  as  there  is  likely  to  be  some  relation  between  the 
amounts  of  oxygen  and  of  carbonic  acid.  Independently,  how- 
ever, of  the  relations  which  may  subsist  between  the  two  bodies, 
it  may  be  gathered  from  the  inspection  of  the  table  (Appendix 
C)  that,  taking  surface-waters  alone,  the  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  present  is  many  times  greater  than  would  be  contained 
in  the  same  volume  of  distilled  water  under  the  same  circum- 
stances.   Sometimes  it  is  more  than  thirty  times  as  much. 

The  amount  of  carbonic  acid  contained  by  surface-waters  of 
the  same  temperatures  increases  with  the  density,  and  conse- 
quently is  greater  in  the  surface-water  of  the  Atlantic  than  in 
that  of  the  Pacific,  the  two  oceans  being  very  markedly  dis- 
tinguished from  one  another  by  the  different  densities  of  their 
surface-waters.  Thus  we  have  a  mean  of  0-0466  gramme  C02 
per  litre  in  Atlantic  surface-water  of  temperature  between  20° 
and  25°  C.  and  mean  density  of  1-02727  ;  while  in  the  Pacific 
the  mean  is  0*0268  gramme  in  water  of  1-02594  mean  density : 
and  the  mean  amount  of  carbonic  acid  in  Atlantic  water  of 
temperature  above  25°  C.  and  mean  density  1*02659  is  0'0409 ; 
while  in  the  Pacific  the  corresponding  water  is  of  mean  density 
1-02593,  and  contains  0*0332  gramme  C02  per  litre.  As  a  rule, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  dimin- 
ishes as  the  temperature  increases ;  thus  the  mean  amount  of 
carbonic  acid  in  waters  whose  temperature  was  between  15° 
and  20°  was  found  to  be  0*0446  gramme  per  litre,  the  mean 
density  being  1*02642  ;  while  we  have  seen  that  in  the  Atlan- 
tic the  surface-water  of  temperature  above  25°  C.  and  of  mean 
density  1*02659  contains  0*0409  gramme  per  litre.  Also  there 
is  usually  more  carbonic  acid  in  waters  taken  from  the  bottom 


312 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


and  intermediate  depths  than  in  surface-water;  but  if  regard 
be  had  to  the  temperature  of  the  water,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  but  little  difference  in  the  amount  in  waters  of  the 
same  temperature,  from  whatever  depth  they  may  have  been 
derived.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  the  animal  life  at  the 
bottom  and  at  great  depths  can  not  be  very  abundant,  other- 
wise there  could  hardly  fail  to  be  a  decided  excess  of  carbonic 
acid  in  the  deep  water,  owing  to  constant  production  and  want 
of  the  means  of  elimination  of  the  gas.  On  this  subject,  howev- 
er, it  would  be  premature  to  speculate  before  the  determination 
of  the  oxygen,  from  which  we  may  hope  for  much  information. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  4th 
of  June  of  the  present  year,  Mr.  Buchanan  communicated  the 
results  of  an  examination  of  the  gases  dissolved  in  sea-water  at 
different  depths,  especially  with  reference  to  the  amount  of 
oxygen  contained. 

He  finds  that  at  the  surface  the  amount  of  oxygen  varies 
between  33  and  35  per  cent.,  the  higher  number  having  been 
observed  in  a  water  collected  almost  on  the  Antarctic  circle : 
the  smallest  percentages  have  been  observed  in  the  trade- wind 
districts.  In  bottom-water,  the  absolute  amount  is  greatest  in 
Antarctic  regions,  diminishing  generally  toward  the  north. 
The  oxygen  percentage  is  greatest  over  diatomaceous  oozes, 
and  least  over  red  clays  containing  peroxide  of  manganese : 
over  blue  clays  it  is  greater  than  over  globigerina  oozes.  In 
intermediate  waters  the  remarkable  fact  was  observed  that  the 
oxygen  diminishes  down  to  a  depth  of  300  fathoms,  at  which 
point  it  attains  a  minimum,  after  which  the  amount  increases. 

The  following  figures  show  the  nature  of  this  phenomenon : 


Depth  ) 
(fathoms).  ) 

0 

25 

50 

100 

200 

300 

400 

800 

j  Between  800  and 
(     the  bottom.* 

Oxygen  [ 
O  +  N  =  100  ) 

33-7 

33-4 

32-2 

30-2 

33-4 

11-4 

15-5 

22-6 

23-5 

*  Nature,  July  26th,  1877. 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


313 


Mr.  Buchanan  drew  the  conclusion,  in  explanation  of  the 
small  amount  of  oxygen  at  depths  of  300  fathoms  and  upward, 
"  that  animal  life  must  be  particularly  abundant  and  active  at 
this  depth,  or  at  least  more  abundant  than  at  greater  depths." 
In  other  words,  that  a  permanent  condition,  probably  of  all  con- 
ditions the  most  unfavorable  to  animal  life,  is  produced  am! 
maintained  by  its  excess. 

This  is  entirely  contrary ,  to  experience.  I  think,  however, 
that  the  observation,  which  is  in  itself  of  the  highest  interest, 
goes  far  to  support  the  opposite  opinion,  at  which  I  had  previ- 
ously arrived  from  other  considerations,  that  in  deep  water  a 
wide  intermediate  zone  between  the  surface  and  the  layer  im- 
mediately above  the  bottom  is  nearly  destitute  of  animal  life — 
at  all  events,  in  its  higher  manifestations. 

If  the  view  which  I  have  adopted  of  the  cause  and  course  of 
the  circulation  of  the  water  in  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans 
be  correct,  it  seems  to  afford  a  ready  explanation  of  the  peculiar 
distribution  of  oxygen.  Free  oxygen  is  doubtless  in  all  cases 
derived  by  the  water  of  the  sea  from  the  atmosphere,  and  it  is 
consequently  absorbed  through  the  surface,  where  the  water  is 
constantly  agitated  in  contact  with  the  air,  and  the  surface-wa- 
ter contains  most. 

In  the  Antarctic  regions,  the  surface-water  sinks  rajfidly  to  the 
bottom,  and  moves  northward  as  the  cold  southern  indraught. 
The  bottom-water  has  thus,  next  to  the  surface-water,  had  the 
latest  opportunity  of  becoming  impregnated  with  air,  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  that  air  it  retains.  If  the  deep  circulation 
in  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  be  chiefly  maintained,  as  I  have 
been  led  to  believe,  by  evaporation  of  the  surface-water  and  a 
slow  indraught  of  Antarctic  water  beneath  to  supply  its  place,  a 
central  belt,  or,  at  all  events,  a  belt  at  too  great  a  depth  to  be 
affected  by  surface  influences,  must  be  the  oldest  water  in  the 
vertical  section,  and  must  consequently  have  been  longest  sub- 
jected to  the  removal  of  oxygen  by  the  scant v  fauna  which  may 
II.— 21 


314 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


still  subsist,  and  more  especially  by  the  oxidation  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  decomposition  of  surface  organisms  as  they  sink 
through  it  toward  the  bottom. 

A  great  deal  has  yet  to  be  done  before  we  can  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  generalize  with  safety  on  the  many  chemical  questions 
of  great  interest  which  have  been  raised  during  the  progress  of 
the  expedition.  I  hope,  however,  that  the  next  two  years  may 
see  the  water  and  gas  analyses,  and  the  analyses  of  the  matters 
of  mineral  and  organic  origin  which  form  the  deep-sea  deposits, 
well  advanced ;  and  that  the  complete  data  in  this  department 
may  appear  in  the  form  of  appendices  to  an  early  volume  of  the 
official  report. 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


315 


APPENDIX  A. 

The  General  Results  of  the  Chemical  and  Microscopical  Examination  of 
a  Series  of  Twenty  Samples  of  the  Bottom,  from  the  Observing  Sta- 
tions on  the  Section  between  Teneriffe  and  Sombrero. 

(The  samples  were  analyzed  by  Mr.  James  S.  Brazier,  Regius  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen.  The  microscopic 
work  was  done  by  Mr.  John  Murray,  and  the  results  are  taken  from 
his  notes.) 

No.  1.  — Station  I.  February  15th,  1873.  Lat.  27°  24'  K,  Long. 
16°  55'  W.  Depth,  1890  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°'0  C. 
Chemical  composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   7*91 

'  Alumina   5*26 

Ferric  oxide   3*95 

Calcium  phosphate  Large  traces 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  73-07. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  19-02. 


Calcium  sulphate  ,  .   0'44 

Calcium  carbonate   50'00 

Magnesium  carbonate   1*32 

t  Silica   1210 

f  Alumina  >  ^ 

Ferric  oxide  ) 

Lime.....      1;26 

Magnesia.   0*52 

Silica.   13-77 


100-00 


A  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  coccoliths  and  rhabdoliths,  many 
pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  genera  Globigerina,  Pulvinulina,  Orbulina, 

Pullenia,  etc.  Amorphous  clayey  and  calcareous  matter,  and  small 

particles  of  feldspar,  mica,  quartz,  hornblende,  and  magnetite. 

No.  2.— Station  II.  February  17th.  Lat.  25°  52'  N.,  Long.  19°  14' 
W.  Depth,  1945  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2o,0  C.  Chemical 
composition : 


316 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F. 

"  Alumina  


Portion  soluble 


5-02 
3-23 

Ferric  oxide   4*18 

Calcium  phosphate  Trace 


hydrochloric  acid  ■{  Calcium  sulphate   0- 


82-90. 


Calcium  carbonate   64*55 

Magnesium  carbonate   1*17 

Silica   9-08 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  12*08. 


Alumina 
Ferric  oxide. 

^  Lime  

Magnesia..  . 
Silica   , 


  1-79 

  060 

  0.33 

  028 

  9-08 

100-00 

A  globigerina  ooze  of  a  gray  color,  containing  many  pelagic  forara- 
inifera  of  the  genera  Globigerina,  Pulvinulina,  Orbulina,  Pullenia, 
and  Sphceroidina ;  a  few  Biloculince  and  arenaceous  foraminifera ;  a 
few  shells  of  pteropods,  otolites  of  fishes,  and  spines  of  echini;  a  few 

spicules  of  sponges  and  radiolarians.  Amorphous  clayey  matter,  and 

many  small  particles  of  quartz,  mica,  magnetite,  feldspar,  and  augite. 
The  larger  mineral  particles  were  rounded  as  if  wind-blown. 

No.  3.— Station  V.  February  21st.  Lat.  24°  20'  X. ;  Long.  24°  28' 
W*.  Depth,  2740  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2o,0  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   8-20 

Alumina   4-70 

Ferric  oxide.  .   3 -50 

Calcium  phosphate  Traces 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid  ■< 
—  77-30. 


Calcium  sulphate   0*70 

Calcium  carbonate   56-39 

Magnesium  carbonate   0'98 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  14-50. 


is 


Silica ...... 

Alumina 
Ferric  oxide. 

Lime  

Magnesia..  . 


11-03 
1-80 
0-80 
0-50 
0-40 


[Silica   11*00 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  genera  Glo- 
bigerina, Orbulina,  Sphceroidina,  Pullenia,  .and  Pulvinulina ;  a  few 
Biloculince  and  arenaceous  foraminifera;  a  few  radiolaria,  and  one  or 
two  pteropod  shells.  Much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  deeply  dyed 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


317 


with  oxide  of- iron  ;  many  small  mineral  particles — mica,  magnetite,  feld- 
spar, quartz,  and  hornblende.  These  mineral  particles  appeared  wind- 
blown, and  had  probably  been  carried  to  this  area  by  the  Harmattan 
and  trade- winds. 

No.  4.— Station  VII.  February  24th.  Lat.  23°  23'  N.,  Long.  31°  31' 
W.  Depth,  2750  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2o,0  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F  „  .  7*45 

'  Alumina   6*40 

Ferric  oxide   15*42 

Calcium  phosphate  Trace 

-{  Calcium  sulphate   1*60 

Calcium  carbonate   44 1 

Magnesium  carbonate   1.20 

Silica   24*25 

Alumina   6*00 

Ferric  oxide   2*54 

Lime   1*06 

Magnesia   0-64 

Silica   29-33 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  52-98. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  39-57. 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  and  many 
small  mineral  particles — quartz,  mica,  hornblende,  feldspar,  magnetic 
iron.  A  few  broken  pieces  of  pelagic  foraminifera. 

No.  5.— Station  VIII.  February  25th.  Lat.  23°  12'  N.,  Long.  32°  56' 
W.  Depth,  2800  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°'0  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F. .  .  .  ,   8-95 

'  Alumina   8'95 

Ferric  oxide   9*70 

Calcium  phosphate  Large  trace 

  2-24 


Portion  soluble  in 

hydrochloric  acid  \  Calcium  sulphate 


=  63-01. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  28-04. 


Calcium  carbonate   16*42 

Magnesium  carbonate   2-70 

Silica  23-00 

Alumina   4-20 

Ferric  oxide   2*10 

Lime    0.89 

Magnesia   0-60 

Silica   20-25 


100-00 


318 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


A  red  clay,  containing  much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  and  many  fine 

mineral  particles — mica,  quartz,  feldspar,  magnetite,  and  augite.  A  few 

pelagic  foraminifera,  entire  and  broken ;  a  few  arenaceous  f oraminifera. 

No.  6.— Station  IX.  February  26th.  Lat.  23°  23'  N.,  Long.  35°  10' 
W.  Depth,  3150  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'9  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   10-40 

Alumina   8*30 

Ferric  oxide   9  •'75 

Calcium  phosphate  Good  traces 

Calcium  sulphate   0-87 

Calcium  carbonate   3*11 

Magnesium  carbonate.  .   1*90 

[Silica   19-81 

f  Alumina     9*10 

Ferric  oxide   2*04 

Lime   0-47 

Magnesia  .   0'95 

Silica   33-30 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  43*74. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =45-86. 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  many  parti- 
cles of  mica,  magnetite,  quartz,  and  hornblende.  Some  of  the  larger 
particles  were  rounded.  A  very  few  broken  portions  of  pelagic  fo- 
raminifera occurred,  and  a  few  arenaceous  forms. 

No.  7.— Station  X.  February  28th.  Lat.  23°  10'  N.,  Long.  38°  42' 
W.  Depth,  2720  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'9  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F.  .  .   7'61 

Alumina   9*73 

Ferric  oxide   9*30 

Calcium  phosphate  

Calcium  sulphate   0-61 

Calcium  carbonate   13*30 

Magnesium  carbonate   1*31 

Silica   24*73 

Alumina. .   5'50 

Ferric  oxide   2-96 

Lime   0-23 

Magnesia   0*19 

Silica   24*53 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  58*98. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  33-41. 


100-00 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


319 


A  red  clay,  containing  much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  and  many  fine 

mineral  particles — feldspar,  mica,  quartz,  and  magnetite.  A  few  entire 

and  many  broken  pelagic  and  arenaceous  foraminifera. 

No.  8.  — Station  XI.  March  1st.  Lat,  22°  45'  N.,  Long.  40°  37' 
W.  Depth,  2575  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  2°'0  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   9-13 

Alumina   5  "61 

Ferric  oxide   4*65 

Portion  soluble  in     Calcium  phosphate  

hydrochloric  acid  -{  Calcium  sulphate   1*02 

—  76*59.  Calcium  carbonate   5T16 

Magnesium  carbonate   1'93 

^Silica   1222 

Portion  insoluble  ~)  j^^^g  resi(jue  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 

in  hydrochloric  >-.,.,. 

.  j     ^  nn  with  silica   14-28 

acid  =  14-28.  J   


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  much  deep-red  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with 

many  particles  of  feldspar,  magnetite,  augite,  mica,  quartz,  etc.  A 

good  many  pelagic  foraminifera  and  their  fragments.  Coccoliths  and 
rhabdoliths. 

No.  9.  — Station  XII.  March  3d.  Lat.  21°  57'  N.,  Long.  43°  29' 
W.  Depth,  2025  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°*9  C.  Chemical 
composition  : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   8-80 

Alumina   1924 

Ferric  oxide   13  74 

Calcium  phosphate  Fair  traces 

Calcium  sulphate   1-37 

Calcium  carbonate   43-93 

Magnesium  carbonate   1-94 

General  residue,  consisting  of  soluble  silica  with  the  insoluble  silicates   10-98 

100-00 

A  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  gen- 
era Globigerina,  Orbulina,  Pulvinulina,  Sphceroidina,  and  Pullenia ; 

many  coccoliths  and  rhabdoliths.  Much  amorphous  clayey  matter, 

with  iron  and  manganese  peroxides. 

No.  10.— Station  XIII.    March  4th.    Lat.  21°  38'  N.,  Long.  44°  39' 


320  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  v. 

W.  Depth,  1900  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'9  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F    6-63 

Alumina  £ 

Ferric  oxide.   .  .  ) 

Calcium  phosphate  Small  traces 

Calcium  sulphate   0-51 

Calcium  carbonate   74-50 

Magnesium  carbonate   1-27 

General  residue,  consisting  of  soluble  silica  with  the  insoluble  silicates   11  '23 


100-00 


A  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  gen- 
era Globigerina,  Hartigerina,  Pulvinitlina,  Sphceroidina,  and  Orbulina  ; 
many  coccoliths  and  rhabdoliths.    A  few  pteropod  shells  and  valves  of 

Ostracoda,  and  otolites  of  fishes.  Amorphous  clayey  matter  and  small 

mineral  particles — mica,  quartz,  olivine,  feldspar,  and  pumice.  Some  of 
the  particles  of  quartz  were  rounded  as  if  wind-blown. 

No.  11.— Station  XIV.  March  5th.  Lat,  21°  1'  N.,  Long.  46°  29' 
W.  Depth,  1950  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'8  C.  Chemical 
composition  : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   4-58 

Alumina  ) 

u  •  -a  M"33 
iernc  oxide  ) 

Portion  soluble  in     Calcium  phosphate   112 

hydrochloric  acid  \  Calcium  sulphate   1*20 

=  90-82.         |  Calcium  carbonate   791Y 

Magnesium  carbonate   T40 

Silica. . .  ,   4  60 


Portion  insoluble  "| 
in  hydrochloric  )■ 
acid  =  4-60.  j 


Insoluble  residue,  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 

with  silica   4'60 


100-00 


A  reddish  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of 

the  usual  genera,  and  many  coccoliths  and  rhabdoliths.  Amorphous 

clayey  matter  with  oxide  of  iron  ;  many  small  particles  of  sanidine, 
angite,  hornblende,  and  magnetite. 


No.  12.— Station  XV.  March  6th.  Lat.  20°  49'  N.,  Long.  48°  45' 
W.  Depth,  2325  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°*7  C.  Chemical 
composition : 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


321 


Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230c 
Alumina  


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid  -{  Calcium  sulphate. 


Ferric  oxide  

Calcium  phosphate  Large 


87-50. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  8-33. 


Calcium  carbonate. .  . 
Magnesium  carbonate 
^  Silica  


Insoluble  residue,  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 


with  silica. 


4-17 
6-25 

traces 

1-  91 
67-60 

2-  58 
9-16 

8-33 
100-00 


A  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  gen- 
era Globigerina,  Orbulina,  Pulvinulina,  and  Sphceroidina ;  many  coc- 

coliths  and  rhabdoliths.  Amorphous  clayey  matter  with  oxide  of 

iron.  Small  particles  of  sanidine,  augite,  pumice,  magnetite,  etc. ;  a 
few  grains  of  manganese  peroxide. 

No.  13.— Station  XVI.  Lat.  20°  39'  N.,  Long.  50°  33'  W.  Depth, 
2435  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  1°'7  C.    Chemical  composition : 


Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F. 

Alumina  


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid  ■{  Calcium  sulphate . 


Ferric  oxide  

Calcium  phosphate.  Small 


78-40. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  12-00. 


Calcium  carbonate. .  .  . 
Magnesium  carbonate 

Silica  

Alumina  

Ferric  oxide  

Lime  

Magnesia.  

Silica  


9-60 
4-00 

7-  10 
traces 

2-32 
52-22 

0-76 
12-00 

|  2-96 

0-64 
0-40 

8-  00 

100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with  oxide  of  iron, 
and  many  small  particles  of  magnetite,  feldspar,  pumice,  and  horn- 
blende ;  a  few  grains  of  manganese  peroxide.  Many  pelagic  forami- 
nifera of  the  genera  Globigerina,  Orbulina,  Sphceroidina,  and  Pulvinu- 
lina ;  coccoliths  and  rhabdoliths.  The  dredge  brought  up  five  small 
round  manganese  concretions  about  the  size  of  marbles,  and  three 
shark's  teeth  of  the  genus  Lamna  with  a  slight  coating  of  manganese 
peroxide. 


322 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


No.  14.— Station  XVII.  Lat.  20°  7'  N.,  Long.  52°  32'  W.  Depth, 
2385  fathoms.    Bottom  temperature,  1°'9  C.    Chemical  composition: 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   6-84 

Alumina   2*69 


Portion  soluble  in 


Ferric  oxide  

Calcium  phosphate 


hydrochloric  acid  ■{  Calcium  sulphate. 


83-44. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  -  9-72. 


Calcium  carbonate. .  .  . 
Magnesium  carbonate . 
Silica  


Insoluble  residue,  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 


9-05 
P74 
0-81 

58-40 
0-68 

10-07 


with  silica   9-72 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with  oxide  of  iron, 
and  many  small  particles  of  sanidine,  augite,  magnetite,  and  quartz ;  a 

few  grains  of  manganese  peroxide.  Many  pelagic  foraminifera  of 

the  genera  Globigerina,  Pulvinulina,  Sphceroidina,  etc. ;  coccoliths  and 
rhabdoliths. 

No.  15.— Station  XVIIL  March  10th.  Lat.  19°  41'  N.,  Long.  55° 
13'  W.  Depth,  2675  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'6  C.  Chem- 
ical composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   7'75 

Alumina   8*25 

Ferric  oxide   1P37 

Calcium  phosphate   0*42 

Calcium  sulphate   0-52 

Calcium  carbonate   15-78 

Magnesium  carbonate   l"4l 

Silica   22-25 

Alumina   7-00 

Ferric  oxide   2*50 

Lime   0-57 

Magnesia   0*38 

[Silica   21-80 

100-00 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  60-00. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  32-25. 


A  red  clay,  containing  amorphous  clayey  matter,  and  small  particles 
of  augite,  feldspar,  hornblende,  and  magnetite ;  a  few  grains  of  manga- 
nese peroxide.  A  few  broken  tests  of  pelagic  foraminifera,  cocco- 
liths, and  rhabdoliths. 


No.  16.— Station  XIX.    March  11th.    Lat,  19°  15'  N.,  Long.  57°  47' 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


323 


W.  Depth,  3000  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°*3  C.  Chemical 
composition :  • 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   744 

f  Alumina   12*91 

Ferric  oxide   10-33 

Calcium  phosphate  Traces 


Portion  soluble  in 


hydrochloric  acid  -j  Calcium  sulphate , 


==  56-47. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  36-09. 


  0-96 

Calcium  carbonate   1-49 

Magnesium  carbonate   3*10 

I  Silica   27-68 

f  Alumina   7-81 

j  Ferric  oxide   1*57 

-  Lime   1-03 

Magnesia   0*52 

Silica   2516 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with  oxide  of  iron ; 

small  crystals  of  sanidine,  mica,  augite.  A  few  siliceous  spicules, 

Only  a  single  fragment  of  Globigerina  shell  was  observed. 

No.  17—  Station  XX.  March  12th.  Lat.  18°  56'  K,  Long.  59°  35' 
W.  Depth,  2975  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  10,6  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  washing  and  drying  at  230°  F   7-45 

f  Alumina   12-28 

Ferric  oxide   11*44 

Portion  soluble  in  [  Calcium  phosphate  Small  trace 

hydrochloric  acid  \  Calcium  sulphate   1*47 

=  56*83.  Calcium  carbonate   3*50 

Magnesium  carbonate   2*14 

Silica  26*00 

Alumina   7 -28 

Portion  insoluble     Ferric  oxide   2-36 

in  hydrochloric   -{  Lime   1*18 

acid  =  35-72.        Magnesia   0-50 

Silica  1   24-40 


100-00 


A  red  clay,  containing  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with  oxide  of  iron ; 
small  particles  of  hornblende,  augite,  magnetite,  sanidine,  and  quartz, 

and  a  few  grains  of  peroxide  of  manganese.  A  few  siliceous  spicules. 

Only  two  fragments  of  Globigerina  shell  occurred  in  the  portion  of  the 
sample  examined. 


324 


THE  ATLANTIC. 


[chap.  v. 


No.  18.— Station  XXI.  March  13th.  Lat.  18°  54'  N.,  Long.  61°  28' 
W.  Depth,  3025  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  1°'3  C.  Chemical 
composition : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   5'92 

Alumina.   7'04 

Ferric  oxide   12-25 

Calcium  phosphate  Small  traces 

Calcium  sulphate   0-51 

Calcium  carbonate   2*44 

Magnesium  carbonate   3  -48 

Silica   24-70 

Alumina   5-51 

Ferric  oxide   6-  7  3 

Lime   0-81 

Magnesia   0-41 

Silica.  30-20 


Portion  soluble  in 
hydrochloric  acid 
=  50-42. 


Portion  insoluble 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  43-66. 


100-00 

A  red  clay,  containing  much  amorphous  clayey  matter,  with  iron  per- 
oxide ;  many  fragments  of  sanidine,  augite,  olivine,  hornblende,  and 
magnetite  ;  many  of  the  mineral  particles  much  larger  than  those  at 
Station  XX.  A  few  fragments  of  the  tests  of  Globigerina. 

No.  19.— Station  XXII.  March  14th.  Lat.  18°  40'  N.,  Long.  62°  56' 
W.  Depth,  1420  fathoms.  Bottom  temperature,  3o,0  C.  Chemical 
composition  : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   3*80 

Alumina  

Ferric  oxide  

Portion  soluble  in     Calcium  phosphate   2-41 

hydrochloric  acid  ■{  Calcium  sulphate   0-41 


4-42 


92-75. 


Portion  insoluble  ~) 


Calcium  carbonate   80-69 

Magnesium  carbonate   0-68 

Silica  


4-14 


in  hydrochloric 
acid  —  3-45. 


Insoluble  residue,  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 


with  silica   3 -45 


100-00 


A  globigerina  ooze,  containing  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the  gen- 
era Globigerina,  Orbulina,  Pulvinulina,  Pullenia,  and  Sphceroidina ; 
many  shells  of  pteropods  and  heteropods ;  a  few  coccoliths  and  rhabdo- 
liths ;  otolites  of  fishes,  and  spines  of  echini ;  a  few  siliceous  spicules. 
 Amorphous  mineral  matter  and  particles  of  quartz,  feldspar,  horn- 
blende, and  magnetite. 


chap,  v.]  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS.  325 

No.  20.— Station  XXIII.  March  15th.  Off  Sombrero  Island.  Depth, 
450  fathoms.    Chemical  composition  : 

Loss  on  ignition  after  drying  at  230°  F   4*00 

'Alumina   l-80 

Ferric  oxide   3-00 

Portion  soluble  in     Calcium  phosphate  Good  traces 

hydrochloric  acid  -\  Calcium  sulphate   1  '00 

93-95.  Calcium  carbonate   84*27 

Magnesium  carbonate   l-28 

Silica   2-60 


Portion  insoluble  "] 
in  hydrochloric 
acid  =  2-05. 


Insoluble  residue,  principally  alumina  and  ferric  oxide, 

with  silica   2*05 


100-00 


A  pteropod  ooze,  containing  very  many  shells  of  pteropods  and  het- 
eropods,  and  their  broken  fragments ;  many  pelagic  foraminifera  of  the 
genera  Globigerina,  Pulvinulina,  Orbulina,  Pullenia,  and  Sphceroidi- 
na ;  large  Biloculince  and  calcareous  Rotalice  and  Cristellarice  ;  a  few 

coccoliths.  Amorphous  clayey  and  calcareous  matter,  with  sandy 

particles,  quartz,  feldspar,  mica,  magnetite,  and  sanidine. 


Notes  on  the  Foregoing  Analyses  by  Professor  Brazier. 

The  loss  on  ignition  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  water,  probably 
water  of  hydration ;  but  there  is  in  all  cases  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  organic  matter.  The  majority  of  the  specimens,  when  treated  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  evolved  the  peculiar  tarry  odor  so  characteristic  of 
some  of  the  limestones  of  this  country.  This  odor  was  most  percepti- 
ble in  the  specimens  numbered  8,  9, 13,  19,  20. 

In  all  the  specimens  in  which  the  quantity  of  material  was  sufficient, 
the  alkaline  vapors  which  accompanied  the  moisture  evolved  were  read- 
ily recognized. 

The  portion  of  the  sample  taken  for  analysis,  after  being  treated  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  yielded  in  every  case  a  residue  of  a  whitish-gray  color, 
Nos.  10,  11,  and  12  being  nearly  white. 

No.  8. — Material  at  command,  9 '80  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition   0'895 

Soluble  in  acid   7*506 

Insoluble  in  acid   1-399 


9-800 


326  THE  ATLANTIC.  [chap.  v. 

No.  9. — Material  at  command,  9 '10  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition   0*80 

Soluble  in  acid   7-30 

Insoluble  in  acid   TOO 

9-10 

No.  10. — Material  at  command,  19*60  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition  .   1*30 

Soluble  in  acid   16-10 

Insoluble  in  acid   2-20 

19-60 

No.  11. — Material  at  command,  24  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition   1*10 

Soluble  in  acid   21-80 

Insoluble  in  acid   1'10 

24-00 

No.  12. — Material  at  command,  12*0  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition   0'50 

Soluble  in  acid   10-50 

Insoluble  in  acid   1-00 

12-00 

No.  14. — Material  at  command,  2 1  "80  grains. 

Loss  on  ignition   1*90 

Soluble  in  acid  23-20 

Insoluble  in  acid   2'YO 

27-80 


CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


327 


APPENDIX  B. 

Table  showing  the  Amount  of  Carbonic  Acid  contained  in  Sea-water  at 
Various  Stations  in  the  Atlantic. 


Date,  1873. 

Latitude. 

Longitude. 

Depth  of  Sample  in 
Fathoms. 

Temperature 
at  Depth. 

Specific  Grav- 
ity of  Water 
at  15°-56  C.  ; 
Water  at 
4°  C.  =  l. 

Grammes 
of  C02  in 
One  Litre  of 
Water. 

TTpVi  98. 
J?  cU,  iO 

23° 

10'  N. 

oo  -tZ  VV  . 

0*70A  rvm 

Z  I  ZU  J30lt0m. 

Z      U  \j. 

X  V  Z  1  t:  / 

Mar  9fi 

19 

41 

OO  / 

oo  /  O 

*  

1  UZiDO  / 

u  wo  / 

0*7 

21 

26 

A  PC    1  CK 

DO  lo 

Surface. 

OK  •  O 
ZO  Z 

1  •A9,7AQ 

1  UZ  /Uo 

a-aj  a 

U  U^rD 

.£0 

22 

49 

do  iy 

zyDU  ijoiiom. 

1   •  KC\ 
1  OU 

x  uzoy  t 

U  UOo 

9Q 

24 

39 

(KK  OK 
DO  ZO 

ZoOU 

1  'A*7 

1    D I 

1  -A9AAA 
1  UZDUD 

A-AKO 

u  uoz 

OX 

27 

49 

D4:  oy 

Surface. 

x  UZ / oo 

U  U4o 

Mav  9A 

36 

30 

A'-j  a  a 

Do  4U 

ZDOU  -DOtiOm. 

1  •  ft 
1  o 

1  -A9  AQA 

x  uzoyu 

A-AAzf 

U  UD4: 

nh 
4  / 

34 

50 

Do  oy 

Surface. 

o  i  •  h 

Zi  l 

1  •AO'71  1 
1  UZ /ll 

A-A/1  K 
U  U-IO 

June  14 

32 

54 

Do  ZZ 

a 

OO   .  Q 

1  -00*71  A 

1  UZ /ID 

U  U410 

32 

54 

63  22 

2360  Bottom. 

1  •  7 

1-02650 

0-0472 

16 

34 

28 

58  56 

2575  " 

1  •  5 

1-02701 

0-0500 

23 

37 

54 

41  44 

Surface. 

21  •  1 

1-02690 

0-0529 

24 

38 

3 

39  19 

2175  Bottom. 

1-02607 

0-0536 

2V 

38 

18 

34  48 

1675 

2  •  3 

1-02660 

0-0592 

30 

38 

30 

31  14 

1000  " 

3  •  7 

1-02683 

0-0446 

Aug.  16 

7 

1 

15  55 

Surface. 

26  •  1 

1:02615 

0-0432 

18 

.  6 

11 

15  57 

u 

26  •  0 

1-02637 

0-0382 

19 

5 

48 

14  20 

a 

26  •  2 

1-02635 

0-0455 

20 

4 

29 

13  52 

a 

26  •  2 

1-02622 

0-0430 

21 

3 

8 

14  49 

300 

5  •  3 

1-02610 

0-0536 

25 

1 

47 

24  26 

Surface. 

26  •  0 

1-02618 

0-0426 

26 

1 

47 

24  26 

50 

1-02630 

0-0533 

Sept.  27 

14 

51  S. 

37  1 

Surface. 

25  ■  3 

1-02770 

0-0330 

30 

20 

13 

35  19 

100 

17  •  3 

1-02736 

0-0360 

Oct.  1 

22 

15 

35  37 

Surface. 

22  •  8 

1-02744 

0-0591 

2 

24 

43 

34  17 

a 

21  •  0 

1-02717 

0-0418 

3 

26 

15 

32  56 

2350  Bottom. 

0  '  8 

1-02706 

0-0491 

4 

27 

43 

31  3 

Surface. 

19  •  4 

1-02702 

0-0432 

6 

29 

35 

28  9 

1000 

2  •  5 

1-02572 

0-0556 

*  On  this  occasion  two  thermometers  were  crushed  by  the  extreme  pressure. 


328 


TEE  ATLANTIC. 


[CHAi-.  V. 


APPEN 

Table  showing  the  Relative  Frequency  of  the  Occurrence  of  the  Principal  Groups  of 

to  a  Depth  Greater 


Station  5. 
j     2740  F'ms'. 

Station  7. 
2125  F'ins. 

Station  9. 
,     3150  F'ms. 

Station  20. 
2975  F'ms. 

Station  29. 
2700  F'ms. 

Station  40. 
2675  F'ms. 

Station  54. 
|     2650  F'ms. 

Station  61. 
2850  F'ms. 

Station  63. 
2750  F'ms.  | 

Station  64. 
2750  F'ms. 

Station  68. 
2175  F'ms. 

Station  69. 
2200  F'ms. 

Station  89. 
2400  F'ms. 

Station  101. 
2500  F'ms. 

Station  104. 
2400  F'ms. 

Station  131. 
2275  F'ms. 

Station  134. 
2025  F'ms. 

Station  137. 
2550  F'ms. 

Station  160. 
2600  F'ms. 

Station  165. 
2600  F'ms. 

Station  181. 
2440  F'ms. 

Station  198. 
2150  F'ms. 

Station  206. 
|     2100  F'ms. 

* 

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1  1 

CHAP.  V.] 


GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS. 


329 


DIX  C. 

Marine  Animals  at  Fifty-two  Stations  at  which  Dredging  or  Trawling  ivas  carried 
than  2000  Fathoms. 


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II.— 22 


INDEX 


A. 

Abel,  Professor,  F.R.S.,  report  on  sam- 
ples of  soil  from  Bermudas,  i.,  323. 
Acanthometrina,  i.,  221. 
Aceste  bellidifera,  i.,  349. 
Acores,  The,  ii.,  23. 
Aerope  rostrata,  i.,  353. 
Adansonia  gigantea,  ii.,  72. 
^olian  rocks,  Bermudas,  i.,  287,  292,  322. 
African  Current  or  Guinea  Current,  ii.,  75. 
Agulhas  Current,  ii.,  265. 
Albatross,  ii.,  129,  141, 145,  161. 
Alciope,  L,  173. 

Aldrich,  Lieutenant  Pelham,  R.N.,  appoint- 
ed to  the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  24  ;  ii.,  84. 

Algesiras,  i.,  128. 

Alima,  i.,  173. 

Aloes  in  flower,  i.,  128. 

Altingia  excelsa,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  31. 

American  deep-sea  expeditions,  i.,  22. 

Amrnocharidce,  i.,  194. 

Amphinomidce,  L,  172. 

Annelid,  tube-building,  living  at  the  sea- 
bottom,  i.,  194. 

Annelids  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  297. 

Antennarius  marmoratus,  i.,  188 ;  its  nests 
of  gulf -weed,  ii.,  17. 

Aqueduct  at  Algesiras,  i.,  128. 

Area,  living  on  the  sea -bottom,  i.,  174, 
233. 

Arrowroot,  its  cultivation  in  Bermudas,  i., 
317. 

Ascension,  Island  of,  ii.,  221,  229  ;  George 
Town,  Green  Mountain,  222 ;  govern- 
ment, 223,  226  ;  botany,  224  ;  climate, 
226;  "Wide-awake  Fair,"  227 ;  birds, 
ibid. 

Astacidce,  Willemoesia  leptodactyla,  i.,  181, 
242. 

Astacus  pellucidus,  i.,  185. 

Astacus  zaleucus,  i.,  244. 

Astronomical  Observatory,  Lisbon,  i.,  120. 

Atlanta  peronii,  i.,  125. 

Atlantic,  The  :  General  conclusions  from 


the  "  Challenger  "  expedition,  ii.,  246- 
329;  contour  of  the  bed,  247-249  ;  nat- 
ure of  the  bottom,  249-256  ;  distribu- 
tion of  temperature,  surface  and  sub- 
marine currents,  256-280;  density  of 
sea-water,  302-310 ;  amount  of  carbon- 
ic acid  and  oxygen  in  sea-water,  310- 
314. 

Avicida,  i.,  189. 

Avocada  pear,  i.,  320. 

B. 

Bailey,  Professor,  globigerina,  i.,  199. 
Baillie,  C.  W.,  Navigating  Lieutenant,  his 

sounding-machine,  i.,  60,  61. 
Balayioglossus,  ii.,  78. 
Ball's  dredge,  i.,  62. 
Balsam-bog,  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  183. 
Baobab-tree,  Cape  Yerde  Islands,  ii.,  72. 
Barnacles,  ii.,  12. 

Barometer,  aneroid,  by  Messrs.  Elliott, 
used  in  the  expedition,  i.,  156. 

Barometrical  observations  taken  during 
the  expedition,  explanatory  diagrams, 
i.,  155. 

Barometrical  pressure,  its  relation  to  lat- 
itude, i.,  88. 

Basalt  rocks,  Fernando  Noronha,  ii.,  107, 
108;  Tristan  d'Acunha,  144. 

Bathycrinus  Aldrichianus,  ii.,  86,  87. 

Beach  marks,  i.,  86. 

Belem  :  Castle,  i.,  113  ;  monastery  of  San- 
ta Maria,  porch,  quadrangle,  and  clois- 
ters, 115,  116,  117. 

Bermudas,  history  and  description  of,  i., 
271. 

Bermudas  arrowroot,  i.,  317. 

Bethell,  Lieutenant  George  R.,  R.N.,  ap- 
pointed to  the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  24,  167, 
229. 

Bignonia  at  Madeira,  i.,  152. 

Birds  of  Bermudas,  i.,  279,  301,  320 ;  Bra- 
zil, ii.,  125  ;  Falkland  Islands,  179  ;  Isl- 
and of  Ascension,  227 ;  San  Miguel,  42  ; 
Tristan  d'Acunha,  145,  156-158. 


332 


INDEX. 


Black  coral,  ii.,  62. 

Blind  crustaceans,  i.,  240. 

Blindness  of  deep-sea  animals,  i.,  184. 

Boaz  Island,  Bermudas,  L,  298,  306,  811. 

"  Bocco  do  Inferno,"  cavern  and  hot 
spring,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  44. 

Bockett  microscope-lamp,  used  in  the  ex- 
pedition, i.,  29. 

Boiling  springs,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  43. 

Bolax  glebaria,  balsam -bog  of  Falkland 
Islands,  ii.,  184. 

"Booby"  (Sulafmca),  ii.,  95,  96,  109. 

Booby  Island,  Fernando  Noronha  group, 
ii.,  108. 

Bosanquet,  Captain  Stanley,  R.N.,  his  re- 
port on  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii.,  166. 

Botany :  Observations  proposed  to  the  ex- 
pedition, i.,  89  ;  Portugal,  129,  151,  152; 
Bermudas,  277,  281,  321 ;  Halifax,  357, 
358  ;  the  Acores,  ii.,  24,  31,  33,  35,  37, 
43-47 ;  Cape  Verde  Islands,  71 ;  Fer- 
nando Noronha,  102  ;  Brazilian  forest, 
124;  Falkland  Islands,  178,  184,  185; 
Island  of  Ascension,  224,  225. 

Bougainvillea  at  Gibraltar  and  Funchal, 
i.,  152. 

Brachiopoda  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 

Brazier,  Professor  James  S.,  chemical  ex- 
amination of  samples  of  the  bed  of  the 
Atlantic,  ii.,  315-326. 

Brazil,  forest  scenery,  natural  history,  ii., 
122,  124. 

Brazil  Current,  ii.,  219,  265,  267. 

Breffit  &  Co's  "drop-bottles,"  used  in  the 
expedition,  i.,  30. 

Brisinga,  i.,  172. 

British  Museum,  specimens  of  Euplectella, 
i.,  137. 

Brito  Capello,  J.  C,  manager  of  the  Lis- 
bon Observatory,  i.,  119. 

Bromley,  Lieutenant  Arthur,  R.N.,  ap- 
pointed to  the  "  Challanger,"  i.,  24. 

Brooke's  sounding-machine,  i.,  18. 

Bryozoa,  i.,  185, 187. 

Bryozoon  (Naresia  cyathus),  dredged  near 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  i.,  142. 

Buchanan,  J.  Y.,  M.  A.,  F.R.S.E.,  appointed 
on  the  scientific  staff  of  the  "  Challen- 
ger," i.,  24,  80  ;  apparatus  invented  by 
him,  i.,  51,  55,  172  ;  geology  of  Fernan- 
do Noronha,  ii.,  107 ;  his  observations 
of  the  density  of  sea-water,  i.,  230,  ii., 
302 ;  of  carbonic  acid  and  oxygen  in 
sea-water,  310-312,  327. 

Building  at  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii.,  142, 143. 

"  Bull-dog,"  H.M.S.,  sounding  expedition, 
i.,  19. 

Buleo  vulgaris,  ii.,  43. 
Butterflies,  shower  of,  ii.,  121. 


C. 

Cable  telegraphs,  deep-sea  soundings  in 

connection  with,  i.,  17. 
Calcareous  concretions,  Bermudas,  i.,  306- 

311. 

Calcareous  formation  in  the  bed  of  the 

Atlantic,  i.,  198,  199. 
Calcaromma  calcarea,  i.,  221. 
Caldeira,  great  crater  of,  San  Miguel,  ii., 

26,  36,  46. 
Calymne  relicta,  i.,  368-370. 
Canary  Islands,  i.,  152. 
Canto,  Jose  do,  M.,  foreign  trees  and  plants 

in  his  garden,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  31,  33,  35, 

43,  47. 
Cape  Mondego,  i.,  113. 
Cape  Eoca,  i.,  113. 

Cape  St.  Vincent,  trawling  and  dredging 

near,  i.,  120,  130. 
Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii.,  68,  230,  231. 
Carbonic  acid  in  sea-water,  apparatus  on 

board  the  "Challenger,"  i.,  40  ;  general 

conclusions,  ii.,  310;  table  of  results, 

327. 

C armaria  Atlantica,  i.,  124. 

Carpenter,  Dr.,  C.B.,  F.R.S.,  "Lightning" 
sounding  expedition,  i.,  20 ;  his  sugges- 
tion of  the  "Challenger"  expedition, 
22  ;  on  globigerina,  201. 

Cassava,  i.,  318. 

Catamarans  at  Fernando  Noronha,  ii.,  57, 
101. 

Cattle  of  Bermudas,  i.,  314;  Falkland  Isl- 
ands, ii.,  181. 

Caves  in  Bermudas,  their  origin,  i.,  293 ; 
the  Walsingham  Caves,  300 ;  in  lime- 
stone, 308  ;  in  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  130. 

Cavolinia,  i.,  126. 

Caxoeira,  Brazil,  ii.,  123. 

Cedars  in  Bermudas,  L,  277,  279,  299,  313, 
321 ;  overwhelmed  by  coral  sand,  290, 
292. 

Cephalopocls  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  299. 

Ceratias  uranoscoptcs,  ii.,  67. 

Ceratotrochus  nobilis,  ii.,  55. 

Chcetoderma  uitidulum,  i.,  249. 

Chalk  from  Bermudas,  analysis  of,  i.,  327. 

"  Challenger,"  H.M.S.,  i.,  72 ;  causes  which 
led  to  the  expedition,  17;  official  cor- 
respondence from  minutes  of  Council 
of  the  Royal  Society,  73  ;  equipment  of 
the  ship,  22  ;  staff  of  officers,  naval  and 
civilian,  24 ;  special  arrangements  for 
scientific  work,  27 ;  natural  history 
work-room,  26 ;  chemical  laboratory, 
33 ;  apparatus  for  boiling  out  the  gas- 
es from  sea-water,  37  ;  for  determining 
the  carbonic  acid,  40  ;  for  gas  analysis, 


INDEX. 


333 


42;  "slip  water-bottle,"  49;  Buchan- 
an's "  stop-cock  water-bottle,"  53  ;  hy- 
draulic pressure-gauge,  58;  improve- 
ments in  the  dredge  and  mode  of  hand- 
ling it,  63  ;  the  steam-pinnace,  70 ;  At- 
lantic stations  where  observations  were 
taken  in  1873,  100  ;  in  1876,  ii.,  243. 

Challengeria,  ii.,  291. 

Challengerida,  ii.,  291. 

Chauliodus  Sloanii,  ii.,  300. 

Chemical  examination  of  samples  of  the 
bed  of  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  315-326. 

Chemical  laboratory  on  board  the  "  Chal-  ' 
lenger,"  i.,  32. 

Chemical  observations  proposed  to  the  ex- 
pedition, L,  89. 

Cidaris  nutrix,  ii.,  196,  197. 

Cintra,  i.,  113. 

Cladodactyla  crocea,  ii.,  186,  188,  191. 

Climate  of  Bermudas,  i.,  320;  of  the 
Acores,  ii.,  24. 

Clio  cuspidata,'\.,  126. 

Clione  borealis,  i.,  127. 

Clustered  polyp,  i.,  149. 

Coccoliths,  i.,  198,  209,  216. 

Coccoloba  uvifera,  Bermudas,  i.,  291. 

Coccospheres,  i.,  210. 

Cod-fishing  near  Halifax,  jSF.  S.,  i.,  356. 

Coelopleurus  Jloridanus,  i.,  271. 

Convolvulus  batatas,  ii.,  38. 

Convolvulus  Cave,  Bermudas,  i.,  302. 

Corals  in  the  Atlantic,  i.,  240,  249,  250, 
255,  278 ;  ii.,  294 ;  coral  reefs,  i.,  85 ; 
of  Bermudas,  280,  283,  284,  285,  301, 
333 ;  analysis  of,  327 ;  remarkable  spec- 
imen, 170,  190;  black  coral,  Madeira, 
ii.,  62;  red -coral  fishery,  Cape  Verde 
Islands,  72,  73  ;  Ceratotrochus  diadema, 
113;  Fungia  symmetrica,  132;  Flabel- 
lum  apertum,  295 ;  in  the  globigerina 
ooze,  285. 

Corinthian  Harbor,  Heard  Island,  ii.,  191. 

Cork  forest,  i.,  129. 

Corvo,  Island  of,  Acores,  ii.,  24. 

Coryphcena  hippurus,  L,  192. 

Coryphwnoides  ser ratios,  L,  121. 

Costume  of  the  Acoreans,  ii.,  48,  49;  of 

Tristan  d'Acunha,  143. 
Crabs  on  Atlantic  Islands,  ii.,  17,  97. 
Crickets  at  Fernando  Noronha,  ii.,  105. 
Crinoids  in  the  globigerina  ooze,  ii.,  284, 

296. 

Crinoids,  stalked,  named  after  officers  of 
the  expedition,  ii.,  84  ;  Bathycrinus  Al- 
drichianus,  86,  87  ;  Hyocrinus  Bethellia- 
nus,  89,  90 ;  Pentacrinus  Madearanus, 
112,  113. 

Crosbie,  Alexander,  appointed  surgeon  to 
the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  24. 


Crustacea  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 

Cryptohelia  pudica,  i.,  255. 
Cryptomeria  Japonica,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  33, 
39. 

Current-drag,  i.,  176,  177,  195;  observa- 
tions on  the  surface  and  Gulf -stream 
at  various  depths,  L,  338,  339. 

Currents  in  the  Atlantic,  surface  and  sub- 
marine ;  general  conclusions  from  the 
"  Challenger"  expedition,  ii.,  75,  257. 

Curves  constructed  from  serial  tempera- 
ture soundings.    (See  Temperature.) 

Cyclopean  architecture,  Tristan  Island,  ii., 
142,  143. 

Cystosoma  Neptuni,  i.,  130. 

Cystosomidce,  i.,  134. 

D. 

Dadylis  ccespitosa,  tussock-grass,  ii.,  184. 
Dana,  James  D.,  A.M.,  caves  in  coral  rocks, 
L,  801. 

D'Arcy,  Colonel,  governor  of  the  Falk- 
land Islands,  ii.,  181. 

Davis,  Captain,  his  correction  of  errors  of 
thermometers,  ii.,  261. 

Decapods  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 

Deep-sea  fauna,  its  nature  and  distribu- 
tion ;  general  conclusions  from  the 
"Challenger"  expedition,  ii.,  281;  ta- 
bles at  different  stations,  285,  289 ;  ta- 
ble of  animals  at  depths  greater  than 
2000  fathoms,  328,  329. 

Deep-sea  soundings  in  connection  with 
submarine  telegraphs,  i.,  17 ;  in  the 
"Bull -dog"  expedition,  19;  "Light- 
ning" expedition  (1868),  20;  "Porcu- 
pine" expedition  (1869-70),  21. 

Deltocyathus  Agassizii,  i.,  253. 

Density  of  sea-water ;  general  conclusions 
from  the  "  Challenger  "  expedition,  ii., 
302. 

Denudation  of  rocks  in  Bermudas,  L,  294, 
296,  310. 

Diacria  trispinosa,  i.,  126. 

Diagram  of  current  observations,  i.,  338. 

Diagrams  of  serial  temperature  sound- 
ings.   (See  Temperature.) 

Diatoms  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  290. 

Dickie,  Professor,  on  dredging,  i.,  95. 

Didyopodium,  i.,  221. 

Diomedea  (Albatross),  ii.,  145,  162. 

Disintegration  of  rocks  by  water  in  Ber- 
mudas, i.,  294,  295. 

"  Dolphin,"  U.  S.,  surveying  expedition,  i., 
198. 

"Dolphin  Rise"  in  the  Atlantic,  i.,  190, 

208,  213;  ii.,  23,  232. 
Dolphins,  i.,  192. 

Doves  at  Fernando  Noronha,  ii.,  102,  105. 


334 


INDEX. 


Dredges,  and  mode  of  dredging  on  board 

the  "  Challenger,"  L,  63,  65  ;  ii.,  281. 
Drift  current,  ii..  267. 

E. 

East,  Captain,  R.N.,  commander  of  the 

Island  of  Ascension,  ii.,  223. 
East  Australian  Current,  ii.,  267. 
Ebbels,  Adam,  seaman  school-master,  his 

death  on  the  voyage,  ii.,  69. 
Echinodermata  in  the  Atlantic,  i.,  240 ; 

reproduction  and  growth  of,  ii.,  189, 

201-211. 

Edinburgh,  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of,  his  visit 
to  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii.,  138. 

Edinburgh,  settlement  at  Tristan  d'Acun- 
ha, 139,  140. 

Eggs  of  Gastropoda,  i.,  123;  of  the  pen- 
guin, ii.,  161 ;  of  the  wide-awake,  227. 

Egyptian  vulture,  ii.,  69. 

Elliott,  Messrs.,  aneroid  barometer  used  in 
the  expedition,  i.,  156. 

Epigcea  repens,  i.,  358. 

Equatorial  Current,  ii.,  266  ;  and  counter- 
current,  268. 

Erica  Azorica,  Acores,  ii.,  40. 

Ericthus,  i.,  173. 

Ethnographical  observations  proposed  to 

the  expedition,  i.,  97. 
Euphrosyne,  L,  172. 

Euplectella,  i.,  135;  aspergillum,  135;  cu- 
mmer, 136;  suberea,  139;  fossil  speci- 
mens, 141. 

Exocetus  evolans,  flying -fish,  i.,  175,  180, 
192. 

Eyes,  their  absence  in  some  and  develop- 
ment in  other  deep-sea  animals,  i.,  184. 

F. 

Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  178-216;  historical 
notices,  180;  description,  181 ;  geology, 
182,  211,  212;  botany,  183;  sea-slugs 
and  sea-urchins,  186,  193;  "stone  riv- 
ers," 212,  213. 

Fanshawe,  Admiral,  his  official  residence, 
Bermudas,  i.,  279. 

Fauna  of  the  Atlantic.  (See  Deep-sea 
Fauna.) 

Fauna  of  Bermudas,  i.,  320. 

Fayal,  ii..  24,  26. 

Ferguson,  James  H.,  appointed  chief  en- 
gineer to  the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  24. 

Fernando  Noronha,  Island  of,  ii.,  100 ; 
penal  servitude  at,  103. 

Ferns  in  San  Miguel,  ii.,  40. 

Firoloides,  i.,  124. 

Fish  of  Bermudas,  ii.,  10 ;  Ascension  Isl- 
and, ii.,  228. 
Fishing-frog,  ii.,  17. 


Flabellum  alabastrum,  ii.,  50,  51. 
Flabellum  angulare,  ii.,  295. 
Flabellum  apertum,  ii.,  295. 
Flores,  Island  of,  ii.,  23. 
Flounders,  young,  in  the  Guinea  Current, 
ii.,  82. 

Flying-fish,  i.,  175,  180,  192. 

Fogo  Island,  Cape  Verde  group,  ii.,  71. 

Forests  of  Brazil,  ii.,  125. 

Fossils  of  Bermudas,  i.,  298. 

Frigate-bird,  ii.,  109,  227. 

Fruit-farms  near  Algesiras,  i.,  129. 

Funchal,  ii.,61. 

Fungia  symmetrica,  i.,  255  ;  ii.,  132. 
Furnas  lake  and  valley,  San  Miguel,  ii., 
32-46. 

G. 

"  Galatea,"  H.M.S.,  visit  to  Tristan  d'Acun- 
ha, ii.,  138,  144. 

Galvanometer,  marine,  Sir  William  Thom- 
son's, i.,  168. 

Gama  Lobo,  M.,  manager  of  the  Lisbon 
Observatory,  i.,  120. 

Gas-analysis  apparatus  on  board  the  "  Chal- 
lenger," i.,  42. 

Gases  in  sea-water,  apparatus  for  collect- 
ing, i.,  37. 

Gastropoda  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 

Geology:  Observations  proposed  to  the 
expedition,  L,  96  ;  Bermudas,  285-327 ; 
Halifax,  358,  359;  the  Acores,  ii.,  24; 
St.  Paul's  Rocks,  99  ;  Fernando  Noron- 
ha, 107  ;  Falkland  Islands,  182,  212. 

George  Town,  Island  of  Ascension,  ii.,  222. 

Gephyrea  in  the  Atlantic,  i.,  168  ;  ii.,  297. 

Gibraltar,  i.,  127 ;  St.  Michael's  Cave,  130 ; 
view  of  the  Rock,  159. 

Glacial  action  in  Nova  Scotia,  i.,  359. 

Glass,  "  Governor  "  of  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
ii.,  135, 137. 

Globigerina,  i.,  122, 180, 198-209,  217. 

Globigerina  bulloides,  from  the  surface,  i., 
202. 

Globigerina  ooze,  i.,  122, 198,  199  ;  ii.,  55, 
249,  253. 

Globigerina  ooze  and  red  clay,  tabular 
view  of  their  proportions,  i.,  215. 

Gnathophausia  gigas,  ii.,  20. 

Gnathophausia  Zoea,  ii.,  21. 

Gold  mines,  Nova  Scotia,  i.,  358. 

Goniocidaris  canaliculata,  ii.,  193. 

Gorgonoid,  i.,  122. 

Grampus,  i.,  192. 

Grapstcs  strigosus,  ii.,  97. 

Grass.    (See  Tussock-grass.) 

Gray  ooze,  i.,  213,  225  ;  ii.,  253. 

Green,  Peter,  "Governor"  of  Tristan 
d'Acunha,  ii.,  138,  141,  144,  165,  168. 


INDEX. 


335 


Green  Mountain,  Island  of  Ascension,  ii., 
222,  225. 

Gru-gru  palms  in  Bermudas,  i.,  281,  321. 
Guarica  cardinalis,  i.,  279. 
Guinea  Current,  i.,  158  j  ii.,  75,  76,  82,  265, 
268. 

Guinea-fowl,  San  Domingo,  ii.,  74. 

Gulf-stream,  i.,  123,  158,  226,  332-391; 
its  width,  depth,  and  rate,  345  ;  Tables 
of  Meteorological  Observations  in  cross- 
ing and  recrossing  it,  379 ;  specific  grav- 
ity of  the  water,  ii.,  308. 

Gulf- weed,  i.,  180,  188,  191 ;  ii.,  15,  290. 

H. 

Habrodictyon,  i.,  136. 

Haeckel,  Ernst,  on  Radiolaria,  i.,  199; 

Coccospheres,  209. 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  i.,  356. 
Haliomma,  i.,  222. 
Haliommatidae,  i.,  221. 
Halo,  solar,  i.,  355. 

Hamilton,  Bermudas,  i.,  312  ;  Cedar  Ave- 
nue, 313. 

Hartnach's  microscopes  used  in  the  expe- 
dition, i.,  29. 

Hastigerina  Murrayi,  ii.,  250,  252. 

Heard  Island,  ii.,  191. 

Heliconidge,  shower  of,  ii.,  121 

Hemiaster  Philippii,  ii.,  198-202. 

Heteropoda,  L,  122, 123. 

Hexactinellidae,  i.,  141, 170. 

Hierro,  Island  of,  i.,  153. 

Holothuroidea,  L,  135  ;  ii.,  191,  281,  290, 
297. 

Horta,  Fayal,  ii.,  27. 
Humming-birds  in  Brazil,  ii.,  125. 
Hyalonema  toxeres,  i.,  120,  257-261. 
" Hydra"  sounding -machine,  i.,  61,  168, 
172. 

Hydraulic  pump  used  in  the  expedition, 
i.,  58. 

Hydrometer  used  for  determining  the 

density  of  sea-water,  i.,  55  ;  ii.,  303. 
Hymenaster  membranaceus,  i.,  113. 
Hymenaster  nobilis,  ii.,  205-208. 
Hymenaster  pellucidus,  ii.,  205. 
Hyocrirtus  Bethellianus,  ii.,  89-92. 

I. 

Ice -markings  on  schist  rock,  Halifax,  i., 
359. 

Inaccessible  Island  (Tristan  d'Acunha 
group),  history  and  description  of,  ii., 
138-163 ;  its  occupation  by  Frederick 
and  Gustav  Stoltenhoff,  150-162;  wa- 
ter-fall in,  148,  149 ;  rock-hoppers  and 
penguins,  146. 

Insects  of  Brazil,  ii.,  125. 


Ipomcea  nil,  at  the  Convolvulus  Cave,  Ber- 
mudas, i.,  302. 

Ipomcea  pes-caprce,  Bermudas,  i.,  291. 

Ireland  Island,  Bermudas,. i.,  296,  297,  300, 
311. 

"Island  Hen,"  of  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii., 
145,  162. 

J. 

Jacobsen,  Dr.,  his  apparatus  for  boiling  at- 
mospheric gases  out  of  sea-water,  i.,  36. 
Janthina,'\.,  123. 

Japan  Current  compared  with  the  Gulf- 
stream,  i.r364. 

Jasminum  gracile,  Bermudas,  i.,  305. 

Jason  Islands,  ii.,  178. 

Jatvoplia  manihot,  i.,  318. 

Jatropha  urensy\\.,  102. 

Jeffreys,  Gwyn,  F.R.S.,  "Porcupine" 
sounding  expedition,  i.,  21,  79,  98^  185 ; 
on  Globigerina,  200.. 

Juniper,  of  Bermudas,  i.,  277,  290. 

K. 

Kerguelen  Island,,  ii.,  196,  198,  199,  200, 
202. 

Kittiwake,  i.,  192. 

Krohn,  on  Globigerina  and  Orbulinav'\., 
199,  207. 

L. 

Labrador  Current,  ii.,  272,  280  ;  specific 

gravity  of  water,  308. 
Lamellibranchiata  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 
Larus  tridactylus,  i.,  192. 
Leda,  living  on  the  sea-bottom,  i.,  174, 185, 

233. 

Lefroy,  Major-general,  Sir  J.  H.,  K.C.B., 
F.R.S.,  Governor  of  Bermudas,  his  offi- 

.  cial  residence,  i.,  280,  281 ;  report  to 
him  on  analysis  of  soils  from  Bermudas, 
294 ;  visit  to  the  Caves  of  Bermudas, 
305 ;  sanitary  statistics  of  Bermudas, 
313. 

Lefroyella  decora,  i.,  375. 
Le  Have  Bank,  i.,  355,  359. 
Lemon-trees  near  Algesiras,  i.,  129. 
leptychaster  Kerguelenensis,  ii.,  203. 
Life,  its  universal  extension  at  all  depths 

of  the  ocean,  ii.,  281. 
Light-house  on  Gibbs's  Hill,  Bermudas,  i., 

312. 

"  Lightning,"  H.M.S.,  sounding  expedition, 
i.,  20. 

limacina  helicina,  i.,  127. 

Limestone  of  Bermudas,  i.,  286 ;  its  for- 
mation from  coral-sand,  i.,  291. 

Limopsis,  living  on  the  sea-bottom,  i.,  174, 
233. 


336 


INDEX. 


Lindahl,  M.,on  Umbelhdaria,  i.,  151. 
Lisbon,  i.,  113;  Polytechnic  School,  113; 

Botanic  Garden,  119  ;  Observatory,  119. 
Lithophytes  of  Bermudas,  i.,  284. 
Liverpool,  Euplectella  in  Free  Museum  at, 

i.  ,  138. 

Long  Island,  Bermudas,  i.,  312. 

Lophius  piscatorius,  ii.,  17. 

LophogastridEe,  ii.,  21. 

LophoJielia  Carolina,  i.,  254. 

Lowe,  Right  Hon.  Robert,  M.P.,  his  offi- 
cial assent  to  the  "  Challenger  "  expe- 
dition, i.,  23. 

Lupins  used  as  manure  for  orange-trees, 

ii.  ,  34,  38. 

M. 

Ma  clear,  Captain  J.  F.  L.  P.,  appointed 
commander  of  the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  23  ; 
ii.,  113. 

M'Clintock,   Sir   Leopold,   "Bull -dog" 

sounding  expedition,  i.,  19. 
Macruridte,  i.,  121. 
Madeira,  i.,  151 ;  ii.,  61. 
Madracis  asperula,  i.,  333. 
Magellan,  Straits  of,  ii.,  176. 
Magnetic  Observatory  at  Lisbon,  i.,  119. 
Manganese  concretions  in  the  Atlantic,  ii., 

15. 

Maranta  arundinacea,  i.,  317. 
"  May-flower  "  of  Nova  Scotia,  i.,  358. 
Medusa?,  phosphorescence  of,  i.,  180. 
Meteorological  observations  taken  during 
the  expedition,  explanatory  diagrams, 

i.  ,  155. 

Meteorological  observations  in  crossing 
and  recrossing  the  Gulf-stream,  L,  379. 

Meteorological  Observatory,  Lisbon,  i.,  119. 

Microscopes  used  in  the  expedition,  i.,  28, 
191. 

Microscopical  examination  of  samples  of 
the  bed  of  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  315. 

Miller,  Professor,  W.  A,  improvements  in 
registering  thermometers,  i.,  22. 

Miller-Casella  registering  thermometer,  i., 
22,  82,  84,  167,  229  ;  ii.,  259. 

Milne,  Admiral  Sir  Alexander,  Bart.,  and 
Admiral  Sir  David,  great  stalagmite 
from  Walsingham  Cave,  Bermudas,  i., 
303. 

Milne's  "slip  water-bottle,"  i.,  48 ;  hy- 
draulic pump,  58,  59. 

Milner,  Rev.  J.,  his  narrative  of  the  visit 
of  the  "  Galatea  "  to  Tristan  d'Acunha, 

ii.  ,  138. 
Mirage,  i.,  356. 

Mollusca  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 
Mollymawk  (Diomedea  exulans),  ii.,  162. 
Mora  Mediterranea,  i.,  121. 


Moraines  ("  stone  rivers  "),  Falkland  Isl- 
and, ii.,  214. 

Moseley,  Henry  Nottidge,  B.A.,F.R.S.,  ap- 
pointed on  the  scientific  staff  of  the 
"  Challenger,"  i.,  24,  80  ;  development 
of  Pyrosoma,  173  ;  West  Indian  corals, 
250  ;  plants  of  Bermudas,  321 ;  Flabel- 
lum  alabastrum,  ii.,  50,  51 ;  plants  of 
Tristan  d'Acunha,  145  ;  geology  of  the 
Falkland  Islands,  182;  new  species 
named  by  him,  50,  55, 110,  295. 

Mother  Carey's  chickens,  ii.,  15. 

Movements  of  the  ocean,  i.,  85. 

Miiller,  Johannes,  on  Olobigerina,  L,  199. 

Munida,  i.,  185. 

Murray,  John,  F.R.S.,  appointed  on  the 
scientific  staff  of  the  "  Challenger,"  i., 
24,  80;  on  Olobigerina,  199,  201 ;  Rhab- 
dospheres,  210 ;  nature  and  origin  of 
red  clay,  217,  218,  221 ;  fauna  of  the 
Atlantic,  ii.,  16,  17,  251,  252,  291  ;  new 
species  named  by  him,  67 ;  microscop- 
ical examination  of  samples  of  the  bed 
of  the  Atlantic,  315. 

Mylius,  C,  on  Umbelhdaria,  i.,  151. 

N. 

Naves,  Captain,  Sir  G.  S.,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S., 
appointed  to  command  the  "  Challen- 
ger," i.,  23  ;  his  supervision  of  sound- 
ing and  dredging  operations,  197  ;  visit 
to  the  Painter's  Vale  Cave,  Bermudas, 
305. 

Naresia  cyathus,  i.,  143,  187. 

Natural  history  work-room  on  board  the 
"  Challenger,"  i.,  26,  27. 

Naidilograpsus  minutus,  ii.,  17. 

Nelson,  General,  on  the  geology  of  Ber- 
mudas, i.,  284,  287,  307. 

Neophron  percnopterus,  ii.,  69. 

Nerium  oleander,  Bermudas,  i.,  299. 

Nests  of  fishes  in  the  gulf-weed,  ii.,  17. 

Newbold,  Corporal,  R.E.,  photographs 
taken  by  him  during  the  expedition, 
i.,  59. 

Nightingale  Island,  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii., 
163. 

"  Noddy  "  (Sterna  stolida),  ii.,  95  ;  photo- 
graph of  its  breeding-place,  St.  Paul's 
Rocks, 94;  Fernando Noronha,  109, 156. 

O. 

OculinidcE,  i.,  254. 
Odium  Tuckeri,  ii.,  29. 
Oleanders  of  Bermudas,  i.,  289. 
Ophiacantha  chelys,  ii.,  62,  63. 
Ophiocoma  vivipara,  ii.,  209,  211. 
Ophioglypha  bullata,  L,  371,  372. 
Ophiomusium  pulchellum,  ii.,  65,  66. 


INDEX. 


337 


Ophionereis  lumbricus,  i.,  271. 
Ophiopholis,  food  of  the  Newfoundland 

cod-fish,  L,  356. 
Ophiuridea,  i.,  172,  240,  248;  ii.,  63,  65, 

296. 

Orange  cultivation,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  32 ; 

photograph  of  an  orange  grove,  37 ; 

plantations  destroyed  by  Coccidee,  i., 

318  ;  trees  near  Algesiras,  129. 
Orbulina,  L,  122,  180,  198-208,  217. 
Orbulina  imiversa,  from  the  surface,  i., 

205. 

Orca  gladiator,  i.,  192. 

Oviedo,  discovery  of  Bermudas,  i.,  271. 

Owen,  Major,  F.L.S.,  "On  the  Surface 

Fauna  of  Mid-ocean,"  i.,  200,  204,  207. 
Owen,  Professor,  F.R.S.,  on  Eaplectella  as- 

pergillum  and  cucumer,  i.,  135,  136. 
Omenta  filiformis,  i.,  194. 
Oxygen  in  sea-water;  general  conclusions 

from  the  "  Challenger  "  expedition,  ii., 

312. 

Oxy gyrus  keraudrenii,  i.,  125. 

P. 

Pacific  Ocean,  North,  its  temperature,  i., 
363. 

Painter's  Yale,  Bermudas,  cave  at,  i.,  286, 
304. 

Palinuridse,  i.,  241. 
Palma,  i.,  153. 

Palm-trees  at  Mount  Langton,  Bermudas, 

i.  ,  281,  321 ;  at  Bahia,  ii.,  122. 
Papaw-trees,  Bermudas,  i.,  319,  320. 
Peat  of  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  185. 
Pelagic  foraminifera,  ii.,  251,  293. 
Penal  servitude  at  Fernando  Noronha,  ii., 

103,  105. 

Penguins  on  Inaccessible  Island,  ii.,  146, 
158-161 ;  on  Nightingale  Island,  171. 

Pentacrinus  Maclearanus,  ii.,  112,  113. 

Persea  gratimma,  i.,  320. 

Petrels,  i.,  192  ;  at  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii., 
156,  288. 

Philippine  Islands,  specimens  of  Euplec- 
tella from  the,  i.,  137. 

Phonolite  rocks  at  Fernando  Noronha,  ii., 
107. 

Phormosoma  uranus,  i.,  146,  147 ;  hopla- 

cantha,  148. 
Phosphorescence  of  the  sea,  i.,  180,  185  ; 

ii.  ,79. 

Phosphorescence  of  Gorgonoid,  i.,  122;  of 
Umbellularia  Groenlandica,  150. 

Phosphorescent  animals,  i.,  173. 

Photography  on  board  the  "  Challenger," 
i.,  59  ;  Engravings  from  Photographs  : 
Belem  Castle,  i.,  114 ;  Cloister  of  Santa 
Maria,  Belem,  117;  Bermudas:  Group 


of  Palms,  iEolian  Rocks,  Land-glaciers, 
Convolvulus  Cave,  Calcareous  Concre- 
tions, Cedar  Avenue,  Swamp  vegetation, 
Papaw-trees,  281,  288,  290,  291,  292, 
297,  302,  306,  307,  308,  309,  310,  313, 
315,  319,  322  ;  Natives  of  San  Vicente, 
375  ;  Acores  :  Garden  Trees  at  San  Mi- 
guel, ii.,  31,  33,  35  ;  Orange  Groves,  37  ; 
St.  Paul's  Rocks,  94,  98 ;  Breeding-place 
of  the  Noddy,  94 ;  Tristan  d'Acunha : 
"Edinburgh"  Settlement,  140;  Cyclo- 
pean Architecture,  143  ;  Inaccessible 
Island  water-fall,  148 ;  Group  of  Rock- 
hoppers,  158;  Group  of  Penguins,  171 ; 
Irrigation,  Porto  Praya,  231. 

Phylica  arborea,  at  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii., 
139,  156. 

Physalia,  i.,  123. 

Pico,  Island  of,  Acores,  ii.,  24,  28. 
Plagusice,  ii.,  82. 
Plants  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  289. 
Platform  Island,  Fernando  Noronha  group, 
ii.,  108. 

"  Poison  ivy  "  of  Bermudas,  i.,  305. 

Polycystina,  i.,  221. 

Polyzoa  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  297. 

Ponta  Delgada,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  24,  30,  37. 

Porcellanaster  cendeus,  i.,  352. 

"  Porcupine,"  H.M.S.,  sounding  expedi- 
tion, i.,  21 ;  temperature  soundings,  226, 
233. 

Port  Louis,  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  180. 

Porto  Prayo,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii.,  71, 
73  ;  mode  of  irrigation,  231. 

"Portuguese  men-of-war,"  i.,  123. 

Potato  cultivation  in  Bermudas,  i.,  318. 

Pourtales,  Count,  on  Globigerina  and  Or- 
bulina, i.,  199,  207  ;  on  "  Deep-sea  Cor- 
als," 250,  253. 

"  Pride  of  India  "  (Melia  azedaracli),  Ber- 
mudas, i.,  299. 

Protective  resemblance  in  the  gulf -weed 
fauna,  ii.,  16. 

Protozoa,  i.,  219. 

Psolus  ephippifer,  ii.,  191,  192, 193. 

Pteropoda,  i.,  122,  125. 

Pterotrachea,  i.,  124. 

Pulvinulina,  i.,  181,  198-209. 

Pumice  fragments  on  the  bed  of  the  At- 
lantic, i.,  217,  225  ;  ii.,  253. 

Pycnogonida  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  298. 

Pyrocystis  fusiformis,  ii.,  82,  83. 

Pyrocystis  noctiluca,  ii.,  82. 

Pyrosoma,  phosphorescence  of,  i.,  180; 
ii.,  80. 

R. 

Radiolaria,i.,l74,  180,198,  199,218,219; 
ii.,  290. 


338 


INDEX. 


Rain-fall  at  the  Island  of  Ascension,  ii., 
224,  255. 

Rain-water  in  universal  use  in  Bermudas, 

i.  ,  277. 

Rat  Island,  Fernando  Noronha  group,  ii., 
108. 

Red  clay  of  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic,  its 
nature  and  origin,  i.,  177,  181,  187,  190, 
193,  212,  214,  215,  262,  269,  293;  ii, 
253,  255. 

Red  clay  and  globigerina  ooze,  tabular 
view  of  their  proportions,  i.,  215. 

Red-coral  fishery,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii., 
72,  73. 

"Red  earth"  of  Bermudas,  i.,  293,  294, 
325,  326. 

Religious  ceremony  in  San  Miguel,  ii.,  48, 
49. 

Rhabdoliths,  i.,  198,  209,  216. 

Rhabdospheres,  specimens  from  the  sur- 
face, 500  and  2000  times  the  natural 
size,  i.,  211,  212. 

Rhizocrinus,  ii.,  91. 

Rhizopods,  i.,  216. 

Rhus  toxicodendron,  of  Bermudas,  i.,  305. 
Ribiera  Grande,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  38. 
Richards,  Admiral,  Sir  George,  F.R.S.,  his 

aid  to  the  expedition,  L,  23,  80. 
"Rock-hoppers,"  on  Inaccessible  Island, 

ii.  ,  146,  158. 
Rotalia,  i.,  200. 

Royal  Society,  proposal  for  a  circumnavi- 
gating expedition,  i.,  23. 

S. 

St.  Elmo's  fires,  i.,  273. 
St.  George's  Island,  Bermudas,  i.,  277,  312. 
St.  Michael's  Mount,  Fernando  Noronha, 
ii.,  107. 

St.  Paul's  Rocks,  ii.,  93 ;  photographic 
views  of,  94,  98. 

St.  Thomas,  West  Indies,  i.;  248. 

Saleniadae :  Salenia  varispina,  L,  145. 

Sand  (coral),  Bermudas  Islands  formed 
by,  i.,  285,  287 ;  garden,  cottage,  and 
cedar  grove  overwhelmed  by  it,  289- 
291 ;  its  conversion  into  limestone,  291. 

Sand-bath,  sea-going,  on  board  the  "  Chal- 
lenger," i.,  47. 

Sand-glacier,  Elbow  Bay,  Bermudas,  i.,  289. 

San  Domingo,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii.,  74. 

San  Iago,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii.,  71,  72. 

San  Jorge,  Acores,  ii.,  30. 

San  Maria,  capital  of  San  Miguel,  Acores, 
ii.,  24. 

San  Miguel,  ii.,  24,  30-50. 
Santo  Amaro,  Brazil,  ii.,  126. 
San  Vicente,  natives  of,  i.,  375  ;  ii.,  68  ; 
Porto  Grande,  231. 


Sargasso  Sea,  ii.,  15,  24. 
Sargassum  bacciferum,  ii.,  290. 
Scalpellum  regium,  female,  ii.,  11,  12; 
male,  14. 

Schmidt,  Professor  Oscar,  on  Rhabdo- 
spheres, L,  209. 

Schouw,  Professor  G.  F.,  relation  of  baro- 
metric pressure  to  latitude,  i.,  88. 

Schultze,  Professor  Max,  on  Euplectella,  i., 
137 ;  on  Globigerina,  200 ;  on  Globige- 
rina and  Orbulina,  207. 

Sea-birds,  their  scarcity  near  Bermudas, 
ii.,  15. 

Sea-hen,  ii.,  162. 

Seal  fishery  of  Tristan  d'Acunha  Islands, 
ii.,  135,  i36. 

Sea-slugs,  ii.,  131, 186. 

Sea-urchins,  i.,  145-149,  349,  368;  ii., 
193-196,  198-201,  290,  297. 

Sea -water  in  the  Atlantic;  general  con- 
clusions from  the  "Challenger"  expe- 
dition :  temperature,  ii.,  256 ;  density, 
302  ;  amount  of  carbonic  acid  and  oxy- 
gen, 310. 

Sea-water,  boiling  atmospheric  gases  out 
of,  36,  37. 

Sea-weed,  i.,  284  ;  ii.,  290. 

Serial  temperature  soundings.  (See  Tem- 
perature.) 

Serpula,  i.,  284. 

Serpula  borings,  i.,  298. 

"Serpuline  reefs,"  i.,  285,  333. 

Sete-Cidades,  crater  of,  Acores,  ii.,  46. 

Setubal,  dredging  near,  i.,  120. 

Sharks,  L,  192. 

Sharks'  teeth,  serai-fossil,  from  the  ocean 
bed,  ii.,  300,  321. 

Sheep  of  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  181. 

Shells,  land,  of  Madeira,  L,  152. 

Sialia  Wilsoni,  i.,  279. 

Siemens,  Charles  W.,  F.R.S.,  deep-sea  tem- 
perature apparatus,  i.,  58,  82,  84,  88,  229. 

Six's  registering  thermometers,  i.,  22;  ii.. 
259. 

Slavery  in  Bermudas,  i.,  276. 

"  Slip  water-bottle,"  used  in  the  expedi- 
tion, i.,  47,  168. 

Sloggett,  Henry  C,  appointed  sublieuten- 
ant to  the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  24. 

Smith's  "  History  of  Virginia ;"  account 
of  Bermudas,  i.,  274-276,  293. 

Smith  and  Beck's  binocular  microscope, 
used  in  the  expedition,  i.,  29. 

Soil  of  Bermudas,  report  from  Professor 
Abel,  F.R.S.,  on,  i.,  323. 

Solar  halo,  i.,  355. 

/Solarium,  i.,  185. 

"  Soldier  crab,"  marine  shells  transported 
inland  by  the,  i.,  298. 


INDEX. 


339 


Somers,  Admiral  Sir  George,  wrecked  at 
Bermudas  (1609),  i.,  273;  his  death 
there,  274. 

Sounding- machines,  "Hydra"  and  Bail- 
lie,  L,  60,  61;  "Valve"  sounding-lead, 
62. 

Sounding  on  board  the  "  Challenger," 
mode  of,  i.,  66,  168. 

Soundings,  temperature.  (See  Tempera- 
ture.) 

Spatangus  purpureus,  i.,  271. 

Specific  gravity  of  the  water  of  the  Atlan- 
tic: mode  of  determination  on  board 
the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  55  ;  ii.,  303  ;  Ta- 
bles of  Specific  Gravities :  TenerifTe  to 
Sombrero,  i.,  237  ;  between  St.  Thomas, 
Bermudas,  and  Halifax,  378 ;  Bermu- 
das to  Madeira,  ii.,  60 ;  Madeira  to  Ba- 
hia,  119;  Bahia  to  the  Cape,  174;  Falk- 
land Islands  to  Portsmouth,  239. 

Spitzbergen  Current,  ii.,  280. 

Sponges  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  284,  293  ;  Hex- 
actinellidae,  Euplectella,  i.,  135, 141 ;  Hy- 
alonema,  141,  257  ;  Poliopogon  amadou 
(new),  171;  Esperiadae,  186;  West  In- 
dian, 240  ;  of  Bermudas,  284,  306  ;  Le- 
froyella  decora,  374,  375. 

Springs,  boiling,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  43. 

Stalactites  and  stalagmites,  i.,  305-311. 

Stalagmite  ceilings  and  stalactite  columns 
of  caves  in  Bermudas,  i.,  301  ;  great 
stalagmite  from  the  Walsingham  cave, 
303. 

Stalked  crinoids.    (See  Crinoids.) 

Stanley  Harbor  and  Town,  Falkland  Isl- 
ands, ii.,  177,  178,  198, 194. 

Star-fishes,  i.,  240,  351 ;  ii.,  203,  205. 

Steam-pinnace,  the  "  Challenger's,"  i.,  70. 

Sterna  fuliginosa,  "wide-awake,"  ii.,  227. 

Sterna  stolida,  "noddy,"  ii.,  95. 

Sternoptychidae,  ii.,  10. 

Stevenson,  Thomas,  C.E.,  mean  thermome- 
ter for  changes  of  temperature,  i.,  157, 
162  ;  table  of  its  indications,  162. 

Stirling,  Dr.  William,  D.Sc,  M.B.,  his  ap- 
pointment as  naturalist,  i.,  80 ;  his  res- 
ignation, 99. 

Stirling,  Rev.  Dr.,  Bishop  of  Falkland  Isl- 
ands, ii.,  183. 

Stokes,  William,  killed  by  an  accident  to 
the  dredge,  i.,  261. 

Stoltenhoff,  Frederick  and  Gustav,  their 
occupation  of  Inaccessible  Island,  ii., 
150-162. 

"  Stone  rivers,"  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  212- 
215. 

"  Stop-cock  water-bottle,"  used  in  the  ex- 
pedition, i.,  51-53,  178,  180. 
Strait  of  Magellan,  ii.,  176. 


Stylaster,  i.,  240. 
Styliola,  i.,  126. 

Submarine  telegraphs,  deep-sea  soundings 

in  connection  with,  i.,  17. 
Sulafusea,  "booby,"  ii.,  95. 
Sunrise  in  Brazil,  ii.,  124. 
Surface-currents,  i.,335. 
Swamp  vegetation,  Bermudas,  i.,  314,  315. 
Svenite  bowlder  raised  with  the  dredge, 
"i.,355. 

T. 

Tables  of  carbonic  acid  in  water  of  the 
Atlantic,  ii.,  310,  327  ;  of  air  and  water 
temperature  (see  Temperature) ;  of 
specific  gravity  (see  Specific  Gravity) ; 
of  deep-sea  fauna  at  different  stations, 
285-289 ;  of  marine  animals  at  depths 
below  2000  fathoms,  328,  329  ;  tables 
of  temperature  explained,  262. 

Taylor,  Rev.  W.  F.,  his  account  of  Tristan 
d'Acunha,  ii.,  136-138. 

Telegraphs,  submarine,  deep-sea  soundings 
in  connection  with,  i.,  17. 

Temperature,  air;  May  to  October,  1873, 

i.  ,  162 ;  at  Bermudas,  1855  to  1873, 328  ; 
tables  of,  in  crossing  and  recrossing  the 
Gulf-stream,  379. 

Temperature  of  the  water  of  the  Atlantic : 
General  conclusions,  ii.,  257  ;  Diagrams, 
constructed  from  serial  soundings,  i., 
231,  342,  349;  ii.,  10,  19,  56,  130,  272, 
277 ;  showing  the  effect  of  a  "  continu- 
ous barrier,"  277 ;  Curves  constructed 
from  serial  and  bottom  soundings,  i., 
227,  267,  347,  362,  366;  ii.,  54,  263. 
Tables:  Portsmouth  to  Teneriffe,  i., 
160;  Teneriffe  to  Sombrero,  235;  be- 
tween St.  Thomas,  Bermudas,  and  Hal- 
ifax, 376,  377 ;  Bermudas  to  Madeira, 

ii.  ,  58,  59 ;  Madeira  to  Bahia,  116,  117, 
118  ;  Bahia  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
172,  173;  Falkland  Islands  to  Tristan 
d'Acunha,  234 ;  Tristan  d'Acunha  to 
the  Acores,  236 ;  North  and  South  At- 
lantic, 1876,  238. 

Temperature  of  the  deep  sea,  as  shown 
by  the  "  Lightning"  expedition,  i.,  21. 

Tern  (Tristan  d'Acunha  Islands),  ii.,  162. 

Thalassidroma  pelagica,  i.,  192. 

Thermometers,  registering,  i.,  21,  156,  225, 
229  ;  ii.,  259,  304  ;  instruments  broken 
in  deep  sounding  at  Bermudas,  i.,  263. 

Thomson,  Sir  C.  Wyville,  LL.D.,  F.R.S., 
appointed  director  of  the  civilian  scien- 
tific staff  of  the  "Challenger,"  i.,  26,  80, 
98 ;  new  species  named  by  him,  139, 143, 
147,  171,  220,  258,  259,  260,  261,  350, 
351,  352,  353,  354,  369,  370,  372,  373, 


340 


INDEX. 


374;  ii.,  11,  62,63,  65,  66,  86,  89,  112, 
192,  193,  197,  206,  208,  250,  252. 

Threshing  in  San  Miguel,  ii.,  45. 

Tidal  observations,  i.,  86. 

Tizard,  Captain  Thomas  H.,  navigating 
lieutenant,  appointed  to  the  "  Challen- 
ger," i.,  24 ;  his  correction  of  thermome- 
ters used  for  deep-sea  temperatures,  ii., 
260. 

Tow-net,  L,  70;  ii.,  80. 

Transparency  of  sea-water,  i.,  88. 

Traveling  in  Brazil,  ii.,  126. 

Trawls,  and  mode  of  trawling  on  board 
the  "  Challenger,"  i.,  68, 186  ;  action  of 
the  trawl,  ii.,  281. 

Triptera  columella,  i.,  127. 

Tristan  d'Acunha  Islands,  ii.,  134;  his- 
torical notices,  134,  165 ;  Tristan,  de- 
scriptive accounts  of,  139-146 ;  Inac- 
cessible Island,  history  and  description 
of,  146-163  ;  its  occupation  bv  Freder- 
ick and  Gustav  Stoltenhoff,  i  50-1 6 2  ; 
Nightingale  Island,  163. 

Trochocyathus  coronatus,  i.,  250. 

Tropic-bird,  ii.,  228. 

Turtle  caught  at  Bermudas  (1609),  i.,  273. 

Turtle,  common  green,  at  Ascension  Isl- 
and, ii.,  228. 

Tussock  -  grass  at  Tristan  d'Acunha,  ii., 
164;  Falkland  Islands,  183,  185. 

U. 

Umbelhdaria  Groenlandica,  i.,  149,  150. 
Upland  geese,  Falkland  Islands,  ii.,  179. 
Urchins.    (See  Sea-urchins.) 

V. 

"Valve"  sounding-lead,  i.,  62. 
Vegetation  in  the  Atlantic,  ii.,  290. 
Velella,  i.,  123. 

"Venus's  flower-basket,"  i.,  137. 
Vigo  Bay,  sounding  and  dredging,  i.,  112 ; 
ii.,  232. 

Villa  Franca,  San  Miguel,  ii.,  45. 

Volcanic  debris  over  the  bed  of  the  At- 
lantic, ii.,  254. 

Volcanic  Islands:  the  Acores,  ii.,  25,  29, 
46,  109 ;  the  Tristan  d'Acunha  group, 
144,  149  ;  Island  of  Ascension,  222. 

Volcanic  mud  and  sand  in  the  bed  of  the 
Atlantic,  i.,  214. 

Volcano,  Fogo,  Cape  Verde  Islands,  ii.,  71. 

Vulture,  Egyptian,  ii.,  69. 


W. 

Wallich,  Dr., naturalist  to  the  "Bull-dog" 
sounding  expedition,  i.,  19 ;  on  cocco- 
liths,  209. 

Walsingham  caves,  Bermudas,  i.,  302. 

Watch -buoy,  in  current  observations,  i., 
336. 

Water  of  the  Atlantic  ;  "  slip  water-bot- 
tle "  and  "  stop-cock  water-bottle,"  used 
in  the  expedition,  i.,  47,  51-53,  178, 
180. 

Water,  total  want  of,  in  Bermudas,  i.,  277, 
295  ;  its  scarcity  in  San  Vicente ;  wells 
and  water-carriers,  ii.,  70. 

Water -fall,  Inaccessible  Island,  ii.,  148, 
149. 

Watson,  Rev.  R.  B.,  his  collection  of  the 
land-shells  of  Madeira,  i.,  152. 

Wells  in  San  Vicente,  ii.,  70. 

Whale  (Xiphius),  Falkland  Islands,  ii., 
182. 

Whisky  Bay,  Heard  Island,  ii.,  191. 

"  Wide  -  awake  "  [Sterna  fidiginosa) ; 
"  Wide-awake  Fair,"  ii.,  227. 

Wild,  J.  J.,  appointed  secretary  to  the  di- 
rector of  the  scientific  staff  of  the  "  Chal- 
lenger," and  artist,  i.,  26,  80. 

Willemoes-Suhm,  Dr.  Rudolf  von,  appoint- 
ed on  the  scientific  staff  of  the  "  Chal- 
lenger," i.,  26,  99 ;  new  species  named 
by  him,  i.,  183,  243,  245 ;  ii.,  20,  21. 

Willemoesia  crucifer,  i.,  241. 

Willemoesia  leptodactyla,  i.,  181. 

Williams,  Sir  Fenwick,  of  Kars,  i.,  130. 

Wilson,  Hugh,  C.E.,  his  railway  operations 
in  Brazil,  ii.,  123,  127, 128. 

Wind,  force  and  direction  of,  table  and 
diagrams  of,  i.,  158,  159. 

Wind-currents,  ii.,  280. 

Woodwardia  radicans,  Acores,  ii.,  40. 

X. 

Xiphicantha,  i.,  222. 

Y. 

Yellow  fever  in  Brazil,  ii.,  128. 

Z. 

Zoological  observations  proposed  to  the 

expedition,  i.,  96. 
Zoophytes  on  the  coral  reefs,  Bermudas, 

i.5  283. 


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Short  History  of  the  English  People.  By  J.  R.  Green,  M.A.,  Exam- 
iner in  the  School  of  Modern  History,  Oxford.  With  Tables  and  Col- 
ored Maps.    8vo,  Cloth,  $1  52. 

HALLAM'S  MIDDLE  AGES.  View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during 
the  Middle  Ages.  Bv  Henry  Hallam.  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  00;  Sheep, 
$2  50 ;  Half  Calf,  $4  25. 

HALLAM'S  CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.  The 
Constitutional  History  of  England,  from  the  Accession  of  Henry  VII. 
to  the  Death  of  George  II.  By  Henry  Hallam.  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  00 ; 
Sheep,  $2  50 ;  Half  Calf,  $4  25. 

HALLAM'S  LITERATURE.  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe 
during  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth  Centuries.  By  Hen- 
ry Hallam.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $4  00;  Sheep,  $5  00;  Half  Calf, 
$8  50. 

SCHWEINFURTH'S  HEART  OF  AFRICA.  The  Heart  of  Africa. 
Three  Years'  Travels  and  Adventures  in  the  Unexplored  Regions  of  the 
Centre  of  Africa.  From  1868  to  1871.  By  Dr.  Georg  Schwein- 
furth.  Translated  by  Ellen  E.  Frewer.  With  an  Introduction  by 
Winwood  Reade.  Illustrated  by  about  130  Woodcuts  from  Drawings 
made  by  the  Author,  and  with  two  Maps.    2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $8  00. 


4    Valuable  and  Interesting  Works  for  Public  and  Private  Libraries. 


M'CLINTOCK  &  STRONG'S  CYCLOPAEDIA.  Cyclopedia  of  Bib- 
lical, Theological,  and  Ecclesiastical  Literature.  Prepared  by  the  Rev. 
John  M'Clintock,  D.D.,  and  James  Strong,  S.T.D.  7  vols,  now 
ready.  Roval  8vo.  Price  per  vol.,  Cloth,  $5  00;  Sheep,  $6  00; 
Half  Morocco,  $8  00. 

MOHAMMED  AND  MOHAMMEDANISM:  Lectures  Delivered  a; 
the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain  in  February  and  March,  1874. 
By  R.  Bosworth  Smith,  M.A.,  Assistant  Master  in  Harrow  School; 
late  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford.  With  an  Appendix  containing 
Emanuel  Deutsch's  Article  on  "Islam."    12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50. 

MOSHEIM'S  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY,  Ancient  and  Modern  ; 
in  which  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Variation  of  Church  Power  are  con- 
sidered in  their  Connection  with  the  State  of  Learning  and  Philosophy, 
and  the  Political  History  of  Europe  during  that  Period.  Translated, 
with  Notes,  &c,  by  A.  Maclaine,  D.D.  Continued  to  1826,  by  C. 
Coote,  LL.D.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $4  00;  Sheep,  $5  00;  Half  Calf, 
$8  50. 

HARPERS  NEW  CLASSICAL  LIBRARY.    Literal  Translations. 

The  following  Volumes  are  now  ready.    12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50  each. 

OiESAR.  —  Virgil.  —  Sallust.  —  Horace.  —  Cicero's  Orations. — 
Cicero's  Offices,  &c. — Cicero  on  Oratory  and  Orators. — 
Tacitus  (2  vols.). —  Terence.  —  Sophocles. — Juvenal.  —  Xeno- 
phon. — Homer's  Iliad. — Homer's  Odyssey. — Herodotus. — De- 
mosthenes (2  vols.). — Thucydides. — JEschylus. — Euripides  (2 
vols.).— Livy  (2  vols.). — Plato  [Select  Dialogues]. 

LIVINGSTONE'S  SOUTH  AFRICA.  Missionary  Travels  and  Re- 
searches in  South  Africa :  including  a  Sketch  of  Sixteen  Years'  Resi- 
dence in  the  Interior  of  Africa,  and  a  Journey  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  to  Loanda  on  the  West  Coast ;  thence  across  the  Continent,  down 
the  River  Zambesi,  to  the  Eastern  Ocean.  By  David  Livingstone, 
LL.D.,  D.C.L.  With  Portrait,  Maps,  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth, 
$4  50  ;  Sheep,  $5  00  ;  Half  Calf,  $6  75. 

LIVINGSTONE'S  ZAMBESI.  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  the  Zam- 
besi and  its  Tributaries,  and  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Lakes  Shirwa  and 
Nyassa,  1858-1864.  By  David  and  Charles  Livingstone.  With 
Map  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00  ;  Sheep,  $5  50  ;  Half  Calf, 
$7  25. 

LIVINGSTONE'S  LAST  JOURNALS.  The  Last  Journals  of  David 
Livingstone,  in  Central  Africa,  from  1865  to  his  Death.  Continued  by 
a  Narrative  of  his  Last  Moments  and  Sufferings,  obtained  from  his 
Faithful  Servants  Chuma  and  Susi.  By  Horace  Waller,  F.R.G. S., 
Rector  of  Twywell.  Northampton.  With  Portrait,  Maps,  and  Illustra- 
tions. 8vo,  Cloth,'  $5  00  ;  Sheep,  $5  50 ;  Half  Calf,  $7  25.  Cheap 
Popular  Edition,  8vo,  Cloth,  with  Map  and  Illustrations,  $ 2  50. 

GROTE'S  HISTORY  OF  GREECE.  12  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $18  00; 
Sheep,  $22  80  ;  Half  Calf,  $39  00. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 
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